Avatar the Last Airbender RPG made Story
by DragonTamer222
Summary: Just a fun RPG that a friend and I made that I decided to post for others to see. It's quite long. Lots of shipping, plenty of action, and set after Western Air Temple, so beware of spoilers! See what new adventures await the Avatar cast!
1. Episode 1: The Worm

**Okay, this story requires a bit of an explaination. First, this is set AFTER the Western Air Temple, so beware of Spoilers! Second, I wasn't the only one that wrote this. A friend of mine (who likes to be known as Kuro), had been writing this RPG with me, and we thought it would be neat to post it up. Because the spaces between are messed up with the uploader, here're the characters each of us chose:**

**Me: Katara, Aang, Ty-Lee**

**Kuro: Zuko, Sokka, Toph, Azula, Mai**

**And both of us took Appa and Momo and some side characters that appear later on.**

**We do not own Avatar or any of it's characters I sure hope you enjoy this (As for Shipping...This has Kataang, Zutara, Tokka (a bit of), Maiko, etc. So...hopefully it'll appease everyone XD)**

**Episode 1: **The Worm

Zuko watched as Katara slammed his temporary bedroom door shut. He felt a wave of sadness at being so vehemently rejected. He knew she hated him, but it still hurt. He hoped that one day perhaps he could be friends with them all. 

He'd never actually had friends; unless you included Mai and Ty Lee, but they were really more like Azula's friends. If you counted family, Uncle Iroh was really the only true friend he'd ever had. 

Now he had to figure out what his best move was. He was being watched VERY carefully. "One false move..." The banished prince gulped. 

He picked up the painting of his uncle and watched it, imploring it to give him answers. "What now? Do I go out there so soon after the water tribe girl... what was her name? Katara.. After Katara threatened me? Or do I wait in here and let the air clear? Uncle.." 

He never realized until his uncle was gone just how much he relied on his uncle's advice. So he stood there, clueless. 

--- 

Toph stared blankly ahead, dipping her feet in and out of water as she listened to the preparation of lunch nearby. She appeared deep in thought about something or other. "Is lunch ready YET?" Or maybe she was just hungry. 

Sokka smiled at Toph as if she'd be able to see it somehow. "It's finished. Katara offered to go fetch Zuko so we could start eating lunch together... WOW... That sounded really weird coming out of my mouth. Zuko Zuko Zuko..." He twitched ever so slightly. 

Aang chuckled, "You'll have to get used to it, Sokka. I guess we all need to." He sniffed at the food curiously and scratched his bald head, "I wonder what's taking them so long...Katara should have brought him out by now. If they take any longer Appa's going to get irritated. 

The large bison roared his displeasure and impatience at the lack of a meal. He had to wait until they all got thier share, and he didn't feel like waiting too much longer. 

"I'm back..." Katara slowly stepped into the room, her eyes downcast and her tone tinged with anger, "I'm not sure if Zuko's going to be eating with us." 

That was all she said. She sat down on the ground, resting her back against a column and avoided making eye contact with any of the others. She didn't want to reveal the words she spoke to the banished prince unless she had to. Right now she urged herself to calm down so the others wouldn't be worried. 

Sokka watched his younger sister closely. She seemed visibly upset. The others didn't seem to even notice, but being her brother and all, he could easily sense these sorts of things. He pondered whether he should pry or if he should just let her sort it out herself. Pry. PRY. 

Sokka slipped beside Katara and also leaned against the column. "Sooo did you and the angry jerk have a fight or something? Is that why he won't come out? Did he say anything mean to you? I will go in there right now and TALK TO HIM!" His face had gradually gotten more and more vicious as he spoke. 

Toph just sighed. "Alright let's just start without our new royal princely friend. I'm starving." 

Katara clenched her teeth and her brows furrowed as her brother began to ask her hundreds of questions. However, at his last comment, she realized she needed to say something quick to cover it up, "No, It's fine, Sokka. We just got into a little arguement...that's all." it was a lie, and she knew Toph could probably figure it out, but for now it would do. "As for the food, I agree, he can join us later if he wants." It was hard to conceal the venom in her voice, but to cover it up, she grabbed out a few bowls from Appa's saddle and divided the soup evenly, keeping a bowl separate for Zuko, and water bended the rest into Appa and Momos' mouths. 

"Mmm mmm, this is great!" Aang exclaimed as he took quite a few bites of the soup, "No meat, extra veggies, just how I like it!" 

Noticing earlier that Katara wasn't in the best mood, he sat by her side when she took a seat and gave her an inquiring look, "Are you feeling alright? Maybe after this you should get some rest." he suggested. 

"I'm feeling just fine!" Katara snapped, "Just give me some peace right now, okay!" She turned her back to him and started to eat her food, leaving the young Airbender to blink in confusion and concern. 

Toph didn't even seem to notice that Katara was lying. Or maybe she just didn't care to act like she noticed. Sokka gave Toph her soup, eyeing Katara on and off while he 'enjoyed' his meatless soup. "ooouuhh what I'd do for some tasty meat right now..." He couldn't help but wonder if they should leave Zuko alone. He still didn't trust the young man. His sister was Azula after all. "Suki," he thought to himself. He wondered if Zuko perhaps knew where Suki was. It was then Sokka's face lit up with the whole 'I have an idea' look. 

"Hey, since Zuko's on our side now, he can tell us everything he knows. Right? Maybe he knows where Suki is.. Oh, and maybe he knows secret stuff about the fire nation!" He nodded as if in agreement with himself. "We should interrogate him. That'll show us how much we can trust him. Am I right?" 

Toph played idly with her soup, it almost being finished. "Yeeah, that's a great idea Sokka. Better than leaving him alone in his room to plot against us." She was being plainly sarcastic, and she obviously had no fear for the awkward banished prince. 

Katara rolled her eyes at Sokka's "idea". "Yeah, that sounds like a good plan." She said with her tone chock full of sarcasm, "Interrogate a Fire Bender that can be set off at any moment if you push him the wrong way. What are you going to do? Make him laugh to death with all your pathetic jokes?" She set her barely-touched bowl of soup roughly down onto the bench she sat on and stood up, "If you need me I'll be in my 'room'". With that said, she stormed off towards the nearest building entrance, hoping that a little rest would do her some good. 

Aang's face held a look of utter sadness on it as his best friend stomped off. He turned his eyes downward towards the ground and sighed softly. Being the Avatar, he knew that he had to keep the peace in the group, but now, it seemed that was going to be impossible if Katara refused to get along with Zuko. 

And as for Sokka's idea, "I don't think that would be a good option right now, Sokka." Aang murmured, "He might need this time to think. It must be hard for him having to leave everything he knew behind in order to start a new life." 

----- 

"Oh come on Aang, now's the time to test him to make sure he's serious about being part of our gang. I mean, I guess I could play nice and not be too hard on him but seriously. After all those times he gave us a hard time, I just want to make sure he's actually our ally. The things I'll ask him won't matter if he truly broke away from his old life." Sokka appeared really stubborn on this issue, as if he wouldn't budge an inch. He must've thought it was a really good idea. 

--- 

Zuko held his stomach as it painfully growled while he sat on his bed. He should have brought more food with him. Why could he never think things through? He felt terrible about everything he'd done to these people who now accepted him into their group. He never thought anything through. If he had truly thought about his life back when he was first banished, he would have realized that his father sent him to capture the avatar because he never actually expected the avatar to show up. His father sent him on a wild goose chase, knowing full well that his son was too much of a gullible spineless blind moron to do anything but his father's bidding. 

"I'm so stupid..." He should have listened to his wise uncle all of this time. He should have understood that the avatar was a part of the world to create balance, and that his father was wrong for continuing the war. 

"Am I interrupting something?" Sokka peeked inside of Zuko's room. 

"What? No... Not really. Is lunch ready?" Zuko feigned a smile that stated he was alright, but he was a terrible liar. 

"Hm? Didn't Katara tell you? She went to go get you a while back. Lunch is over. But we saved you a bowl. It's probably cold now sorry--" 

Zuko shook his head. "No really, cold food isn't a problem..." He trailed off at the part explaining why it wasn't a problem as if such a thing shouldn't be spoken of. 

Sokka nodded. "Ohhh right. That skill comes in handy for reheating food? I never thought of that before. Wow, must be pretty useful. I mean, when I was in my little village --you know, the one you attacked-- anyway, I always had trouble eating hot food. It always gets so cold." 

Zuko offered a meek smile and an awkward silence ensued. 

"..." 

"..." 

And so Zuko got up and walked outside of the room with Sokka, both of them uncomfortable. As soon as Zuko figured out that his food was safe from Katara's presence, he jumped for it in the most princely, mannerly way possible and reheated it before sipping away. 

"... Where's the meat?" Zuko looked at the soup funny. Sokka smiled brightly. Maybe having Zuko around wasn't so terrible after all./quote 

-------- 

Aang shrugged as Sokka stated his belief that this idea was really going to work. Once he was set on a certain goal, it was hard to change his mind, "Alright, but take it easy on him. I'm sure he wouldn't care too much if you start screaming at him right away." 

With this said, he watched as Sokka left and turned a concern gaze in the direction Katara left. 

Katara let out a frustrated groan as she collapsed onto a make-shift bed she made with the sleeping bags she brought along. She buried her face in the soft cloth, her thoughts jumbled and confused. Why would Zuko decide to join thier group after what he had done? Was it a trick...a way to get close to Aang in order to kill him like he tried before? Did he have nowhere else to go? She coudn't bring herself to think the one thought that remained hidden in the farthest corner of her mind...Did he really change his ways? 

The sound of a door opening snapped her out of her reverie and she turned her head to see Aang standing outside of her room. She averted her gaze to the wall and murmured, "What do you want?" 

The Airbender walked to her bedside and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "I wanted to help you, you look like something's bugging you." 

Katara pulled away from his grasp, "It's nothing...just...I need some time alone." 

Aang stood in his place, his hand hovering inches from her shoulder. He sighed and left the room, shaking slightly from fear and sadness. Katara never acted this way before...something was really bothering her. 

----- 

"Aang's a vegetarian so we don't have meat in our soup. Sometimes we cook it seperately. So you like meat too huh?" Sokka watched Zuko. He was glad they had this in common, and it was the only thing he could think that they even had in common. 

"I always have meat in my meals.." Zuko felt awkward making a connection over meat, but at least there was some sort of connection. "I really love meat..." The banished prince let out an uncomfortable smile before finishing his soup. 

"That's good, that's really good. Maybe with you here we can add more meat to the budget. When we go to the markets... Yeah." Sokka looked towards Toph to see what she was up to. 

Toph was just listening quietly while picking her nose. Zuko was completely avoiding looking at anyone. And Sokka wondered where Aang was. The others had left bowls behind but there was no sign of them either./quote 

Aang shut the door behind him carefully and quietly, trying his hardest not to disturb Katara any more than he had. His fingertips lingered at the doorknob before he pulled away and shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants. As he looked down at the ground, he saw Momo gazing up at him with a curious look on his face. 

"You don't want to go in there now, Momo. Katara is acting a bit odd." 

The small lemur just cocked his head to the side and flapped his bat-like wings in order to perch lightly upon the Avatar's shoulder. Aang pat the small creatures head and walked back towards the rest of the group. 

Back in the room, Katara closed her eyes and rested the side of her face upon her pillow, letting the jumbled thoughts lie forgotten in her mind for a brief moment. She felt exhausted, both physically and mentally, and she allowed the darkness of sleep to overwhelm her. She would face her problems when she wakes up, but for now, she needed rest. 

"Hey Aang! Oh right!" Sokka smacked the back of his head lightly. "I forgot, I was going to ask you some questions Zuko.. er.. That's okay with you isn't it?" 

Zuko looked up at Aang from where he was sitting and then back at Sokka. He had this look on his face that said he was afraid of what Sokka would ask him. "... Yes, sure. That's alright." 

"Okay, so do you know where Suki is?" Sokka almost pointed at him accusingly. "I'm sorry... Who is Suki?" Zuko frowned, unable to answer the question. "Suki, she's of the Kyoshi Warriors. She's been taken prisoner by Azula". 

"I didn't know about it, but maybe I could help you find her. There's several Fire Nation prisons in the Earth Kingdom.." The prince watched the used food bowls absently. "First you should make sure and teach Aang firebending." Sokka didn't want to admit it, but that was more important than finding Suki. Zuko nodded in silent agreement and looked at Aang. 

Aang also nodded, "Yes, Sokka's right, we should really get working on it. I can't save the world if I don't master all of the elements." He stood before Zuko and, pressing his fist against his palm, bowed in the Firebender style greeting as a respectful gesture to his new teacher, "I am ready for my lessons to begin, Master Zuko." 

_Katara opened her eyes, hearing fighting going on outside. However, instead of the warm stone walls of the Western Air Temple, she was surrounded by walls made of pure ice. As she gazed around the room she was in, a smile came to her face as recognition flooded her. _

_"It's my house..." she murmured. _

_Throwing the blankets off of her, she stood up and walked out side, feeling the chill air against her bare arms. She rubbed them to keep warm, and gazed around at the all-too familiar landscape. However, the sounds of a battle came to her ears and she turned her head as she saw a group of Fire Nation soldiers fighting her father and his band of warriors. She started forward, but paused as she saw her mother fighting along side of them. _

_She wanted to cry out with joy, but the battle was getting rougher, and she knew she needed to help. She tried desperately to stream the water from the water skin at her side, but as it came out, it splashed uselessly to the ground. _

_"What the..." She then turned her gaze upwards as Zuko suddenly appeared with his back towards her, facing her mother. He turned his golen eyes back towards her, with his brows furrowed in a glare, and sent a blast of fire towards her mother's turned back. _

"Mom! NO!" Katara shot up from the Air Temple bed, beads of sweat tumbling in large numbers down her face. It took her a few moments to realize that it had only been a dream, and she collapsed back down onto her back, breathing heavily 

Zuko smiled warmly and stood up. He respectfully bowed back in the way he was taught. He'd never been so happy before. It was very odd to him. "I'm honored to be called your firebending master Avatar. Let us begin." 

Sokka made a face in response to Zuko and Aang. It was just really weird. Toph smirked quietly to herself, as if she found out a juicy bit of information. "Hey guys, just don't practice around me okay? I'm pretty much done with being accidentally burned." 

Zuko frowned, deflated by the statement. "Yes, firebending is pretty dangerous. Follow me avatar..." Zuko walked off in search of a place they could safely firebend without harming other members of the group or causing an out of control fire. 

--- 

Aang didn't hesitate, but followed along with Zuko. He wasn't sure how far he'd have to go alone with him in order to prevent the others from getting hurt, but it didn't matter now. Learning firebending was an important goal for him that just had to be learned. And he wasn't going to have his new teacher think that he wasn't brave enough to learn it. But still, he kept a wary eye on Zuko, knowing full well what he was capable of. 

Katara rested on her back, staring up at the ceiling as the images from her dream faded away. Zuko should be training Aang soon...that would mean she had to keep an eye out to make sure nothing bad happened. 

When she walked out to where Toph and Sokka were sitting, she looked around, her heart sinking as she realized that Zuko and Aang were nowhere to be seen, "Where are they!" She demanded, turning towards her brother. 

Sokka was watching something in the distance suspiciously with what appeared to be some sort of weird monocular. "I've got it all under control little sister.. I'm watching them at the bottom of the canyon right now. They're just sitting there. Not even using fire." Toph sighed. "How boring.." Her feet were out of water. They were pruned and painfully starting to peel, but they were set lightly on the ground regardless. 

Zuko sat with Aang on the ground. "Let's start with basics. Your breath and your energy level are the key to controlling firebending. Stance is also important, but without proper breathing, fire can easily get out of your control. Unlike any other element, fire has a life of its own. The life that you give it. Once it is created, it will consume everything in its path, attempting to live on. Being aware of your surroundings can be a matter of life or death." 

The prince scratched his head, wondering if he'd blurted too much out all at once. "Do you understand? That's why we're going to start with proper breathing." By the look on Zuko's face, one could tell that he hated proper breathing. 

Katara clenched her fist, "Well, at any sign of Zuko betraying us, tell me. I'll be down there faster then you can say 'wait'". 

She walked over to where Toph was sitting and frowned in sympathy at the sight of her injured feet. Her tone softened a bit as she sat next to the young Earthbender, "Aang's not ready to use fire yet. He needs to learn the 'boring', as you say, basics so that the flames don't go out of control." Her gaze was cast downwards as she remembered his last Firebending lesson a few months ago, "Trust me, the last time he messed with fire it wasn't very pretty." 

Aang smiled and chuckled, "Yes, I understand perfectly. I actually learned quite a bit of the basics for Firebending by a man named Jeong Jeong. Unfortunately, I haven't seen him since..." He sighed, but then stood up straight, "I'm ready for my first lesson. It may not be fun, but I know how essential it is to learning the actual Firebending." 

Zuko nodded and seemed to be deciding something for several moments. "... Show me what you learned Avatar. You were taught by the great Deserter, so you must've learned something." The prince was being impatient, and he knew he was. But he hated the basics. 

Sokka watched from his monocular. "They're talking; I can see their mouths moving. Oh how I wish I could read lips." Toph shook her head at the two water tribe siblings. "I know the things he did to you guys in the past were pretty messed up, but seriously. He's been sincere. And if you think about it, that means he gave up his family, his servants, his kingdom, everything, just for the avatar. I can somewhat relate. But unlike me, I can imagine he has no one to return home to." 

The water tribe boy sighed. "It's not that we don't want to trust him. But Aang is our friend, and I'd feel bad if something happened to him. And of all people, Zuko, son of Firelord Ozai and heir to the throne, is not someone I'd trust with Aang alone. He chased us all over the world before you met him. I just don't know if someone could change that much so suddenly, and I wonder exactly WHY he changed so much so suddenly." 

Toph would stomp her foot in irritation but it burned too badly. "Who cares why?"

Aang sensed the thinning of Zuko's patience, and knew he had to get this right. He wanted to impress the Firebender, show him what he was really made of, but at the same time, he knew he had a lot to learn. He took the stance that Jeong Jeong told him, and began to breathed deeply in and out, taking gentle, but long breaths as he let the air flow freely through his lungs. 

Katara nodded in agreement as Sokka voiced his concern. Those were exactly the questions she had asked herself. It seems she had quite a bit in common with her brother. However, at Toph's outburst, she lost her cool and clenched her fists before turning her narrowed eyes to the blind Earthbender, "I care! Do you realize how I bad I felt when Aang was shot out of the air by Azula after Zuko betrayed us! I don't want to see him hurt that badly again, and if it happens again, I'm afraid I don't have any of that water to bring him back!" 

Toph's face turned less annoyed but more severe. "After meeting Azula, I began to feel like I understood why Zuko had suddenly reverted in Ba Sing Se. She is a lying and deceitful person, and she's not afraid to use your weaknesses to her advantage. She played us. Imagine living with her." 

Sokka turned momentarily to look at Toph. He seemed disgusted and disturbed all at once. "That's got to be one miserable life. You think she gave him that scar?" He looked out of his monocle again. 

Toph frowned. "What scar? How would I know?" 

Zuko watched Aang as he breathed. "That seems about right." He walked over and fixed Aang's stance. "That's even better." 

Katara closed her eyes and remembered offering to heal Zuko's scar. She thought he had changed then...but she was dead wrong, and paid for it with Aang's life. But then the thought of him having to grow up with such a terrible sister caught hold. Was he possibly afraid of her? Azula was a frightening person, but Katara herself nearly defeated her in their last battle. If only Zuko hadn't interrupted... 

She was snapped out of her thoughts by a loud sound in the distance. It appeared in the direction that they came from, towards the Fire Nation Capital. She shivered, and hugged her knees to her chest. Hopefully they were well concealed in this hidden Air Temple. 

Aang gratefully accepted Zuko's help, and found that his breathing came in easier and stonger then ever before. He took in his biggest gulp of air and let it out with a satisfying sigh. 

------ 

Toph raised a brow. "Was that just thunder I heard? Does it look like it's going to rain?" Her feet were really becoming unbearable again. She turned around, again placing her feet in a pool of water. 

Sokka looked around at the mildly cloudy day. "It could, but it doesn't look like it right now.. It's not that cloudy at all." Sokka hoped it wasn't trouble. He wanted it to rain. The rain was something he enjoyed. It never bothered him. 

Zuko didn't seem to hear anything. "Do you feel your breath feeding your chi?" He took a stance beside Aang, a serene look on his face. "Do you feel the air as it gives you life? The air takes away impurities when you breathe out as well. Concentrate on feeling it." He felt himself word for word quoting his uncle's lessons.

Katara looked up at the sky. The skies were clear, maybe with a stray cloud here or there. They had just arrived in the safety of the Western Air Temple...She hoped and prayed that it wasn't who she thought it was. 

"We should check up on the surface every so often in case the Fire Nation sent out some soldiers to look for us. I'm sure we won't be able to live the next few months in peace..." She sighed, "Though I think I'd prefer it by now...I've had enough danger in my life to last me quite a while." 

Aang closed his eyes, and continued to breathe in, feeling his muscles relax as he felt the air flowing through him. Even though he controlled air every day, he never really thought about its importance in everyday life. Every single breath he took gave him renewed energy. 

Zuko allowed several long moments to pass while they breathed before starting something new. He walked over to face Aang. "Listen, firebending in itself is not entirely devoted to unleashing the power of fire on opponents. In truth, the focus is placed upon balance. You need inner calm, discipline, and emotional stability to be a great firebender. Keep this in mind, because many of our exercises will be based on these aspects." Zuko sat down and motioned for Aang to do the same. "We're going to meditate on what holds us back, such as our fears and our shame, and we are going to let it go." Zuko closed his eyes and gave a quiet sigh. 

Sokka, who was continuing to monitor through his monocle, seemed distracted. "... Well the Western Air Temple is probably not someplace we should stay for a long period of time.. I'll look up our next destination. Here Toph, hold this.." He handed her the monocle. Toph frowned. "What's this? A cup of some kind?" Sokka smacked his forehead while pulling out a map. "Nevermind, Katara, you take it. Sorry Toph." He grabbed the monocle from Toph and gave it to Katara. 

Aang chuckled softly at the list of qualities it took to be a Fire Bender. It didn't seem that Zuko fit any one of those, except maybe the discipline part, but he had his doubts. However, he sat down and closed his eyes, following Zuko's example and sighing in the same way. He remembered his lessons at the other air temple, in opening his chakras, and frowned slightly at the memory. 

Katara blinked as Sokka set the monocle in her hands. She sighed and then rolled her eyes, "I don't think we can trust you with that map on you're own...The last thing we need is to accidentally go back towards the Fire Nation, especially at this time." 

Sokka pouted. "Okay now you're just being mean. We all know I'm the map guy, and you've said so yourself. I know exactly where we are, and I've got a good idea of where we should be going." He looked away for a moment before opening the map back up. He couldn't believe his little sister would say something so untrue and hurtful. "I mean, sure I've made one or two bad choices of paths but I'd never stupidly lead us back to the fire nation." 

Toph shook her head. "What's your deal sweet stuff? Don't take stuff out on Sokka just because your -boyfriend- is giving Zuko a second chance. Why don't you just chill out?" 

Katara's mouth shot open to argue, but she realized that there was no way she would win. Besides, she felt bad about her cruel comment, and her eyes once again wandered downwards to gaze sadly at the ground, "I...I'm sorry Sokka. I didn't mean to make you feel that bad. Toph is right, I do need to chill out...I'm going to take a small walk, I'll come back when I feel a bit better." 

Without another word, she stood up and formed an ice bridge between the main building they were on and the one next to it. She wanted to take a look around up near the top of the cliff anyway, to see if the source of that strange sound was anywhere nearby. 

As she crossed the bridge, she couldn't help but look down to see how far the hidden village was from the ground below. She gulped, unable to see anything but darkness, and continued to step across her makeshift bridge./quote 

Toph heard ice being formed and she felt Katara's body leave from her 'sight'. It felt as though she walked right off the cliff. She'd feel better if Katara just used an earth bridge, and she was prepared to make one if for some reason Katara ended up needing it. 

Zuko, having been unknowingly let out of the gang's sights, continued to meditate with Aang. He meditated on his recent decisions and their possible consequences. He feared losing his country over this. His country meant everything to him. He had to let this fear slide, and so he did. He feared how Mai reacted to his note of apology. He feared he'd have to give himself his uncle's role for the rest of his life. That his uncle was ashamed of him. 

"Okay, that's enough meditation for now.." 

Katara took a deep breath as she arrived on the other end of her ice bridge, and aimed her outstretched hand at the water. With a quick motion, the bridge melted and a thick stream of water followed the motions of her hand before it reared up towards the upper cliff and formed icy steps. Swiping a strand of hair out of her eyes, Katara made a mental note to put it back into a braid when she got back. She then began to climb the tall, crystal steps, preparing herself for anything she would find up there, friendly or not. 

Aang's fears made themselves known as he meditated on them. He was afraid that time was running short, that the comet was going to come before he was ready to stop the Fire Nation. He was afraid for those brave warriors that surrendered at the hands of the Fire Lord, who were now captured and held as prisoners. Who knows what they were going through? And then his friends...he was putting them all in danger because of his destiny, his role as the Avatar. He bit his lip gently and then took one deep, sighing breath, in order to let those fears go. 

"Okay, that's enough meditation for now.." 

Zuko's voice caught him off guard and he started as he snapped out of his meditation. He looked at the banished Prince and gave a small nod to show his agreement. 

Zuko was deep in thought about something that was important to him. Whatever his deep thoughts were, they were distracting him from his task. It took him several moments before he decided what he would say. "Uhh... I guess now we can work with fire." Zuko felt this was right because he didn't want to bore the Avatar or anything, and he'd already learned some things from Jeong Jeong, The Deserter. The prince had many other reasons buzzing in his head, and some of them were selfish reasons. He wondered how well the Avatar would handle fire in the beginning. 

Sokka charted out their path on the map successfully and rolled it up. He took a look around and saw Katara in the distance climbing. "Why is Katara climbing up there? Couldn't she have just waited for Aang and Zuko to be done training and hitch a ride with Appa?" The water tribe peasant was glad that she wasn't obsessing over making sure Aang would be safe alone with Zuko or not. With that thought he searched for his monocle. "Where'd my monocle go? Ooh man..." He couldn't find it, so he squinted to check up on the fire nation prince and Aang. 

Aang leaned forward in anticipation after he had stopped his meditation. Zuko wasn't responding...He frowned, wondering what was on the banished prince's mind, and waited for him to say something. 

"Using real fire now? Are you sure? The last time I tried that and wasn't ready...a small accident occured..." He closed his eyes and sighed, remembering Katara's hurt expression when he burned her. He knew he had to learn Firebending eventually, and the sooner he did the better, but he wanted to make sure he was fully ready before he actually used fire. 

As Katara arrived at the top of the steps onto the grassy area above, she took in a calming breath and looked around. As far as the eye could see across the vast plain, there were no signs of anything suspicious. The Waterbender gave a sigh and sat down on the ground in order to clear her thoughts. She felt that she should be keeping an eye on Aang and Zuko, but for now she had to think this through. 

"Okay...so not only do I have to worry about the Firenation coming through here, but I have to keep an eye within our own group as well..." She whispered her thoughts, hoping it would help to keep her mind focused on what she needed to do in the near future, "I need to think of a way to keep an eye out on those two in order to make sure Zuko doesn't decide to change his mind early in the journey...yet at the same time try not to make a total fool out of myself in front of Aang and the others..." She sighed, and, turning her eyes to the side, saw a pretty large frog sitting not too far from her, "What are you looking at?" she snapped. 

Zuko watched Aang with a pretty serious face. "There isn't much to burn here. I mean, besides me. But I'm a firebender, and besides, what are you going to do to me? Burn me? Like that hasn't already happened to me. You're just going to pace yourself and be careful." He reassured Aang with a small awkward smile. 

"We're going to start small. The point is to control the flame. You need to keep it alive but not feed it so much as to let it get out of control." Zuko pulled a weed from the ground and stared at it for just a moment. He created tiny flame on the tip and blew it out until it was just barely alive. He wanted to say something sarcastic about the great avatar handling something so scary, but he bit his tongue and just gave it to him. "Keep it alive." 

"You've got a good point there..." Aang said as his eyes trailed to Zuko's scar. He watched as Zuko took up the plant and started the small flame. Aang remembered the similarity to Jeong Jeong's lesson, and he gently took the weed from Zuko. 

As he gazed at the flame, he concentrated on it carefully. The small flame looked so feeble and weak, it seemed like it wouldn't live for long. He made a small motion with his forefinger, and it appeared as if the flame slowly was getting larger. He concentrated harder on the fire, and little by little it gained more life. 

"You idiot, I said keep it alive. Not feed it. You're going to burn your hand. Fire has a will of its own, and you need to respect it." Zuko frowned. "Get it right or we can't do this on a larger scale." He crossed his arms stubbornly. 

Sokka continued to search for his monocle, but it continued to elude him. He wished he could go down there and see what Aang was learning. 

Toph just didn't care, and she decided she'd take a nap. She was very tired from the night before.

"Gah!" Aang jumped at Zuko's reaction and the flame went down to its usual size, "Well it would be easier if I knew what I was supposed to do!" He groaned in frustration and looked at the small flame. He made the same mistake before...creating the flame before he was ready. Sweat dripped down his forehead, he had to get this down. 

Katara jumped as another loud sound boomed out from the plains behind her. She leapt to her feet and twisted around, seeing nothing unusual once again. However, the sound still echoed through the cavern below. It was louder this time. 

"What is that..." She whispered. The frog on the ground gave a small croak in reply. "That really helps..." She added. 

Her curiousity got the best of her as she cast a hesitant look down at the cavern where the others were waiting. The sound wasn't too far off...she could just investigate and come back before they begin to worry about her. 

Lifting the water satchel at her side, she weighed it in one hand to make sure there was enough to provide her in case of an attack. She then let it fall limp at her side and set off in the direction of the sound. If her hearing was correct, it wasn't too far off. 

"I told you to keep the flame alive. You're supposed to keep it from dying, and that's all." The banished prince pulled out his own piece of grass and demonstrated. "See, this is what you're supposed to do. And this--" The grass suddenly burst into flame and died out, "is what you were about to do. How is that keeping it alive?" His bright amber eyes watched Aang fiercely, as if daring him to object. Suddenly his eyes narrowed at another subject, somewhere in the distance. "Was that thunder? Did you hear that, Avatar? I mean... Aang?" He openly chided himself for that slip up. 

Sokka finally found his monocle when another bout of thunderous noise. "What is that? Heat lightning?" He'd heard of it while in the Fire Nation. Apparently heat lightning is a common phenomenon where the... "Wait a second.. heat lightning doesn't touch the ground. And that's where thunder comes from.. What is that noise?" 

Toph sat up, not even having dozed off yet. "It doesn't feel like it's going to storm Sokka. Do you think it might be trouble? I mean, we didn't get much distance from the fire nation. Zuko was able to track us." Sokka interrupted. "He's really experienced at tracking us. Of course he tracked us. I guess it might be worth a look around though." Sokka signaled at Aang to come back up the cliff. 

Aang heard Zuko's challenging tone, and hissed in frustration. Then the great booming sound met his ears and he turned his attention to it. "Yes, I heard it...I haven't heard that kind of sound before though..." He looked up, seeing that Sokka was gesturing for him to come up, and he turned to Zuko, "I guess we'll have ot continue these lessons later...We need to find out what that sound is. If it's the Fire Nation...well...we'll have to think of a plan." 

As Katara walked further away from the Western Air Temple, she began to see a small speck on the horizon. She squinted her eyes, hoping to get a better view. Another thunder-like sound came and the speck vanished. The waterbender blinked and quickened her pace. Once again, the figure appeared, closer and larger, and vanished once more. It was coming quickly, and each time it went below ground, it gave off the thunderous noise. As it drew closer, Katara could feel the earth shake. She then paused as she came close enough to distinguish what it was. From her far vantage point, she saw that it was a large machine that resembled a worm. And when it vanished, it tunneled underground only to resurface yards further up ahead. 

"Oh boy..." She murmured. 

Toph crawled towards the edge of cliff, suspecting something. Once Sokka had successfully gotten Aang and the jerk's attention, he noticed Toph crawling and picked her up. "Where do you want to go?" 

Toph almost squirmed in defiance, but it was Sokka. She didn't mind if Sokka did things for her. "Bring me to the cliff. I want to see something." Sokka obediently did just that and watched with a slight admiration as she placed the palm of her hands the cliff face. She then punched the cliff face lightly. "Wait, what IS that?" She did it again. "There's a big metal worm, and it's heading right for us. Katara's up there, and it's catching up to her!" Sokka's eyes bulged out and his voice cracked. "What! We've got to save her!" 

Zuko cringed at the thought of it being the Fire Nation. He'd burned Toph on accident because he was worried the Fire Nation had come for him. "Great. The Fire Nation. That's just perfect." The prince scowled. "what if they tracked me and now I've lead them to the avatar? What if they're especially going after him now that there's a traitor teaching him firebending? What if it's Azula? What if it's Mai?" A slew of uncertainties ran through his head. As sure as he was with his decision to join, he still didn't feel up to running into anyone he knew as Prince Zuko. Everything was too fresh. Zuko's face scrunched in mental anguish over the whole thing. 

Sokka decided it'd take too long for Aang and the jerk to get back up, so he helped Toph and himself onto Appa and gave them a lift. "Come on! We have no time! Some giant worm... thing is gaining on Katara!" Zuko took one look at Appa to figure out how to get on and then he hopped on with little effort. "It must be the Fire Nation." He gruffed. And suddenly, Zuko's stomach hurt because he was so irritated and nerve wracked, but he chose to ignore it.

Aang gasped when he heard what was up there, "Katara's up there alone! When did she wander off!" Without waiting for an answer, he tapped his staff on the ground, unleashing the canvas wings, and grabbed onto the cross-bar holding up the broadest wingspan, "I'll meet you guys up there! Be careful!" Concern rang deeply in his voice and with a great leap, he was soaring upwards, guiding the wind to take him up in a quicker fashion.

Katara stared in shock and backed away as the ground a yard ahead of her began to shake and crack. She immediately retrieved the water she carried and allowed it to circle around her in a defensive manner. Her hands moved quickly to keep the large stream moving, but as the giant creature surfaced, she lowered her hands in shock.

The machine looked frighteningly more alive than fake. As it reared its ugly head above her, she saw that its mouth was filled with hundreds of razor-sharp teeth placed in a circular pattern within its mouth. Four rows of the daggers rotated, crushing whatever bits of earth were left. It was large enough to swallow a whole ship. Its body was sectioned off, enabling it to move in a similar way that the giant drill had at Ba Sing Se. Katara gulped and took quite a few steps back, then, throwing a punch towards the machine's open mouth, she froze the tip of the water to a sharp point and had it soar into the rotating jaws.

Zuko watched as Aang rushed off ahead of them and his stomach further tightened. Was Azula going to be there? If so, would Mai be there as well? If she were there, would she fight him? Sokka left him no time to really concern himself over it as he spoke loudly. "Yip yip Appa!" Appa instinctively rose in hurry, following Aang without even being guided. Zuko grabbed hold of the saddle, shocked at the sudden thrust. Toph held on tight to Sokka's arm, staring straight ahead.  
The giant worm's teeth began to slow down, in no part thanks to Katara's little ice spike, which was crushed. Steam blew from one of the sides and out stepped Azula, proud as ever in her posture. She walked calmly over to Katara without any threatening motion besides the tiny overconfident smirk on her face. "Well if it isn't the water tribe girl. Have you come to greet me?" Mai poured out right behind Azula, seemingly disinterested in the situation. She watched Katara blankly.

As Aang flew over the cliff of the Western Air Temple, he groaned as he saw the worm-like creature quite a ways from them. How long had he and Zuko practiced that Katara could have gotten so far away? He quickened the speed of his glider and furrowed his brow in concentration. He heard Appa roar loudly, and Momo hovered below him. "Why did she have to go out on her own..." he complained with a small groan.  
Katara took another step back as Azula stepped out of the machine. "Not at all," She hissed in reply to Azula's comment, "I'm just curious why you're riding in a giant, hideous worm. A tribute to yourself, no doubt? You may have won the battle in the Fire Nation, but that was from sheer dumb luck." The water she had left rose over her right shoulder threateningly. She wanted to wipe that disgusting smirk off of the girls face. She knew she was vastly outnumbered, but as long as she could distract them before the others showed up, she could at least try to stand a chance.

From behind Azula and Mai, Ty-Lee nimbly leapt behind them, a giant smile planted on her face, "Hey! Why'd we come out, that ride was fun!" She cocked an eyebrow as she saw the waterbender and she looked around, "Hmm...if she's here, where's that cute water tribe warrior?"

"Ty-Lee, less talking and more attacking. Subdue her. You too, Mai." Mai grumbled quietly, apparently in a bad mood, and began attacking Katara with her hidden throw weapons as she ran towards her. Azula looked on, somewhat disinterested in Katara. She watched something in the distance with a glare, preparing herself for a fight. If her thoughts were true, she was outnumbered quite a lot. It would be important to capture the waterbender as to somewhat even out their chances.  
Sokka watched as they reached the top of the cliff, scanning for Katara and a giant worm creature. Since they were in a plains area, it was easy to spot them. They were further away than he would have liked. "Hurry Appa, Katara's in trouble!"

Ty-Lee gave a quick nod and immediately ran forward to action. She made it to Katara before Mai did and immediately struck out, aiming towards the pressure points on the Waterbender' s body.  
Katara immediately prepared herself for this and mushroomed out the water around her. She then breathed out icy air to freeze the water in a dome-like barrier. The weapons Mai threw bounded harmlessly from the icy surface, and Ty-Lee's fingers met a solid wall.  
"Owwie...that hurt!" She quickly shook her hand to get rid of the pain and gasped as a whip of water came shooting out at her from the center of the dome. Katara's hand was raised in the air before her. "Is that all you've got?" She taunted.

Azula's glare became another smirk as she brought her attention back to Katara. She quickly disabled Katara's barrier with a blue fire attack, causing it not only to mostly melt, but also to shatter. Mai took full advantage of this opening and from not too far behind Katara threw some more of her projectile weapons towards her legs, hoping to injure them.

Katara gasped as he shield shattered, and managed to take a look behind just as the weapons came flying towards her feet. She quickly stroked her arm in a downward motion and a thin stream of water slammed into the weapons. However, the stream missed one, and it embedded itself into her ankle. The waterbender hissed in pain as she fell to one knee and she quickly threw her outspread palm towards Mai to send a blast of water towards her stomach.  
Ty-Lee took the distraction into her stride and cartwheeled behind the waterbender. She threw out her fist towards Katara's neck, but the waterbender quickly wheeled around and slammed her fist into the ground, causing water to appear from the flowers before it became a wave that slammed into the Taijutsu fighter.  
Katara weakly stood up, favoring her injured foot, and kept her eyes moving from one person to another. She knew she couldn't last long, but she only needed to stall a little bit more...

Mai easily dodged the water, which she noticed was a somewhat weakened attack. It was probably due to her bending stance being partially hindered. She turned around, noticing that the avatar wasn't too far behind them. He was going to charge directly, without trying to use any surprise. Made sense considering it'd be hard to sneak attack in this area. Well, two could play at that game. She took her time to aim perfectly, which only took her about two seconds.  
Azula raised her arm and sent a blue fireball lunging toward Katara and prepared her stance to follow up on it with some more. However many it took to bring her down.  
Zuko watched from Sokka's left side for who their enemies were. Sure enough it seemed Mai and Ty-Lee were beside his sister. Did they really think their trio would be enough to capture the avatar still? Or could they be there for a different reason entirely...

Aang watched as the projectiles came towards him, and he leaned his bodyweight towards the side so his glider would turn sideways in the air, allowing the weapons to shoot past harmlessly. He took in a deep breath and then let it out, shooting a large ball of air towards the goth-like girl.  
Katara gasped and quickly streamed as much water as she could towards her hands and froze them into sword-like points. She staggered to her feet, wincing at the pain in her ankle, and lashed down at the first blue flame. She ran forward, her speed hindered by the injury. At each fireball that was sent at her, she lashed both of her makeshift blades at them, trying to get as close to Azula as she could for close-combat.

Azula also ran towards Katara and sweep kicked fire right in Katara's path.  
Mai continued her onslaught of thrown weapons at Aang, attempting to keep him seperated from Katara.  
Zuko jumped off of Appa and rolled once he hit the ground. He ran into the fight with a passionate frenzy of fireballs, some aiming for Ty-Lee and others aiming for Azula.  
Azula had to stop mid strike and roll out of the way of his barrage. She stood up and got into a fighting stance. "Well well, if it isn't my traitorous brother. Are you here to save your new girlfriend, the water tribe girl?" Zuko became flustered at this statement. "She is not my girlfriend!" Azula smiled knowingly. "So you'd deny dating the waterbender but you wouldn't deny betraying your country? Your own father?" As she spoke she took several steps away from Katara, eyeing both of them. Zuko's face grew rather serious. "I'm not betraying my country, I'm saving it. But you wouldn't understand my decision, would you." Azula shrugged. "I never did understand how your little mind works Zuzu." Zuko became short again. "I told you never to call me that!"

Aang gasped as more of the weapons came towards him. He had to swerve and flip through the air on his glider in order to avoid most of them, and the others he shot away. He had to keep moving in order to avoid being hit. He caught a glimpse of Appa landing, and he was glad that the others could help Katara.  
Katara's eyes widened in shock as she saw the wave of fire coming towards her. She quickly allowed the icicle-like blades on her hands to melt and form into a stream of water that struck the flames head-on. As she ran forward through the steam, she stopped as she saw Azula roll aside as Zuko attacked. Katara quickly took this distraction, noticing that Ty-Lee was leaping away from the fireballs, and leaned down to take the weapon out of her ankle. Hissing, she allowed a bit of water to cover her hand and she ran it over the wound, healing it enough to stop the bleeding. It was still quite sore, but she had to worry about that later.  
As she lifted herself back up and saw the feuding siblings, she stiffened at Azula's first comment. In synchronization with Zuko's words, she yelled, "He's not my boyfriend!" And clenched her fists. Remembering the last battle that took place similar to this, she kept her eyes on both of the siblings. She couldn't be too careful.  
Ty-Lee stayed close to the three benders, wondering what she should do. Azula had given her an order, to subdue the waterbender, but it seemed that the Princess was doing well on her own. In order to keep herself from getting bored, the acrobat watched for an opening in the waterbenders defense. She was distracted by the other two, it would be a perfect time to strike, but she was curious as to how this was going to turn out.

Azula glared at Ty-Lee for not taking her opening, hoping she'd get the point subtly. She then continued to mock Zuko. "You're my dear brother, and I don't wish to kill you like father wants me to. I'm hoping to change his mind somehow. Maybe if you'd drop this rebellious little phase of yours; I think that would help. So father had you banished. You deserved it after the way you'd been acting before it."  
Zuko had frozen in place, listening quietly to his sister's words. Some part of him still believed her lies, but it wasn't a big enough part to change his mind. It only hurt him. His anger had dampened some from her hurtful words. He watched Mai from the corner of his eye. He wondered how she felt about all of this.  
Azula was quite happy with how well she still managed to manipulate her emotional brother and took this moment to go after Katara again. But Sokka and Toph had caught up to the fight. Toph, although her feet were in great pain, managed to block Azula off from Katara. Sokka dodged Ty-Lee and came to his sister's side, noticing she was hurt. "Katara, I've got your back now."

Katara scoffed, "You don't want to kill him? For some odd reason I highly doubt that what you're saying is true." She shifted her weight more onto her good foot, and looked out of the corner of her eyes as Sokka leapt past the acrobat in order to get to her side, "I'm glad you do, brother." She whispered back to him, "You make sure that Tai-Lee doesn't come to close to us benders. If Toph, Zuko, and I are going to take this girl out, we need to have all our concentration focused on her. She breathed out a shaky sigh as a sharp pain shot up her leg, "Don't worry, we'll be fine..."  
Aang knew he had enough and he watched Mai carefully in order to make his move. When she reached to take out more weapons, he closed the wings of his glider to make it into the staff and fell towards the ground. However, instead of falling all the way down, he sent a blast of air at the earth in order to avoid her next attack and then slammed his staff downwards, sending a mix of air and chunks of rock soaring towards her.

Sokka drew his beautifully crafted sword and watched Ty-Lee with a devilishly handsome grin. "Don't you think it's a little unfair on her end? I have this awesome sword now, and she just pokes with her little girly fingers." He overdid his fighting stance, attempting to seem extra muscly. "Bring it Ty-Lee. You may have moves, but I've got the sword."  
Mai dodged the majority of the rocks, covering her head and protecting herself against the ones she couldn't avoid. She groaned as one of the them knocked her right in the back and knocked her over. She immediately took advantage of her position and secretly threw several daggers in Aang's way.  
Zuko proved he was still tied to Mai when he could barely take his eyes off of her while she was being attacked. He knew he should have been helping Katara, but he had these feelings for Mai. He closed his eyes, chiding himself for being overly emotional. He needed to focus on his duty.  
In the back of his mind, Sokka was concerned about Zuko. If Zuko were to change his mind now, they'd all be in trouble. By the way he was acting, it seemed as though he could be pushed in either direction. He needed to--  
"Hey Zuko, mind helping us out a little? Or are you too busy just standing there?" Toph walked over to Zuko, obviously pained with each step. She demanded to be noticed, her chest puffed out. She pushed him roughly. "Or are you just too much of a pansy to fight them?" Zuko felt a mix between pity and guilt at first, but then he just got angry. "I'm not a pansy! I'll fight them! Of course I'll fight them! I told you guys I'm on your side didn't I!" He came running at Azula, drawing his dual broadswords.  
Using them as an extension of his arms, he firebended out of the broadswords straight at Azula. Azula wasn't the least bit shocked at his move and jumped backwards out of the way, sending her own blue fire to parry his in midair. Zuko was about to dodge when he realized she wasn't even aiming for him. She was aiming for Toph. He had to block it. He swung his swords like a fan, using his fire as well to block. The blow sent him flying backwards into the dirt, beside Toph. "Oh sorry Zuko... Am I getting in the way? I'm having trouble earthbending because someone burned my feet." Zuko just glared at her. "Ptooy... ugh... I think I got dirt in my mouth."

Aang grinned as he saw Mai fall and his eyes widened in shock as he saw a flash of metal near to the ground. He awkwardly leapt into the air, performing a flip as he landed right after the projectiles had passed. He sighed in relief and then slammed his foot downward into the ground, allowing a large chunk of rock to leap up from the earth. When it rose up to chest level, he struck out his fist and sent it flying towards the fallen girl. He hoped to at least pin her down.  
Ty-Lee smiled flirtatiously at Sokka, "Girly little fingers, huh? Let's see who's the big lion-dog after you see this!" She waited until he was slightly distracted with his thoughts about Zuko before leaping in to attack. She ducked low in case he tried to swing the black blade at her, and aimed low for his legs, her hands appearing like blurs as they moved. Without stopping to know if she made contact to his chi points or not, she twisted around to step behind him and aimed another attack towards the back of his neck.

As Azula leapt in midair, firing at Toph, Katara took her chance and charged forward, curling her hands into fists before streaming a large amount of water from the plants below her. Ignoring the terrible pain in her ankle, she drew as close as she could to the Fire Nation princess as she could and performed a circular motion with her hands, ending by throwing them forward completely. This caused the water to circle around her once before it shot towards Azula.  
Sokka noticed that Ty-Lee had gotten close to him, but too late to react properly. He swung his sword, only to embarrassingly miss her. He felt two jabs to his legs and they gave in like jelly. Sokka was unable to stand properly, and therefore unable to turn properly, and so he was jabbed in the neck. And down he went, pathetically with his rear in the air. "Aggh! My body! It won't... MOVE!"  
Zuko continued spitting out dirt as he got up. He watched Sokka's pitiful display and then Katara's awesome display. He sympathized with Sokka at that moment. No, not just empathized. He totally sympathized.  
Azula attempted to block the force of gushing water, but she miscalculated just how much water the watertribe peasant had her hands on and went down. It was almost as if she made water appear out of thin air! From the ground she noticed that the plants around Katara were dried out. "So that's your game..."  
Mai smacked the rock out of her way with her arm as she got up, simultaneously throwing another projectile in Aang's direction.  
Zuko took his chance and double teamed against Azula, knowing that if she were taken down, Ty-Lee and Mai would give up. He shot a whip of flame at Azula from her blind spot.  
Azula rolled out of the way and crouched, eyeing Katara and Zuko in waiting.

Playfully, Ty-Lee stood on one hand on Sokka's back and pulled at his poof of hair with the other, "He he, you went down faster then the last time, cutie. Looks like you need to train a bit more with that sword. I could've taken you out with my eyes closed!" She smiled and then leapt off of his back, landing on her feet in front of his face.  
Katara smirked. So the pampered princess wasn't prepared for that little surprise. All the better for her. She quickly drew some water from the waterskin at her side and sent a whip of water towards Azula. As it flew through the air, she took a deep breath and sent a blast of freezing air from her lungs at the tip, causing it to freeze to a point like before.  
Aang twisted to the side and sucked in his stomach as the projectile whizzed past. He quickly regained his composure and sent a few blasts of air towards her from his staff.

Mai kept herself wedged between Aang and the others, and they seemed to have gotten further away from the group. She easily dodged him, continuing to send projectiles after him. Where did she keep all of them?  
"Cutie? You think I'm cute?" Sokka smiled goofily. "Hey, could you do me a favor and get this hair out of my face?"  
Zuko managed to block off Azula's escape route and smiled at Katara. He then overheard Sokka and glared. "Stop flirting with Ty-Lee! That's so gross!"  
Sokka raised his eyebrows and continued to grin.

Ty-Lee grinned from ear-to-ear, and flipped onto her hands so she could look at his face before pushing the strand away, "There you go Hot Stuff! All better!"  
Aang groaned as he noticed the distance from the others. He groaned as he dodged another group of projectiles, these ones coming a bit closer then usual. She had to run out eventually. In the meantime, he sent a large blast of air towards her, hoping to push her back in the direction of the giant machine, and his friends.  
Katara saw Zuko smiling at her, and she turned her head away, glaring forward as if she hadn't seen anything. She drew some more water from the ground and allowed it to rise into the air before sending it crashing down towards Azula.

After his hair problem was solved, Sokka grabbed Ty-Lee by the arms, his arms still in perfect working condition, and pulled, hoping to bring her down painfully.  
Zuko then frowned like a sad little puppy for a quick moment before watching Katara's bending with amazement. She was really good. Azula created a circular shield of flame around her, blocking Katara's move. She then tripped Zuko, who quickly rebounded and tripped her right back, catching her between the neck with his broadswords.

Azula stood stock still as he closed in on her. She knew he didn't have the guts to kill her, but she couldn't be too careful.  
Mai's eyes widened as she ran out of the way of the blast, closing in on Aang and getting herself moreso inbetween him and his friends. "You're so predictable. How boring." She began using close combat, apparently out of projectiles. She gave several quick jabs aimed right for his stomach.

"Gah!" Ty-Lee gasped as she was brought down to the ground and she fell face-first into the earth. "Mmfou...mmmricked...mmwe" she murmured with her face in the dirt.  
Aang gasped and arched his back out in order to avoid being jabbed. He then went behind her, ducking left and right as she continued to try and hit him. He constantly remained moving, easily avoiding her attacks.  
Katara watched, impressed, as Zuko had Azula pinned. Her arms lowered, wondering if it was over, and clenched her teeth as the pain became to much. She collapsed to one knee, holding herself up with one hand while the other went to her sore ankle.

Azula stayed still for several long moments, allowing for Zuko and Katara to cool off. "I guess you're going to finish me now brother..." Zuko frowned, unsure of how he should reply to that. He looked to Katara for help. "I'm not going to kill you... As long as you stay still and don't make any moves."  
Sokka kept a firm grip on Ty-Lee's hands, and her body was quickly covered with earth except for that small part of her arms he was grabbing and her head. Toph grinned widely through her pain. "Well that takes care of her."  
Mai introduced her moves more in a way to continue widening the gap between Aang and his gang rather than actually attempting to land blows on him. But it looked as though she were actually trying to hit him. "Stay still you little--"

Katara took in a deep breath and lifted her hands above her. The plants around her slowly withered as the water lifted from them and surrounded Azula, freezing her entire lower body to the ground, "She could melt herself out of that, but it will have to do for now. Keep the swords there until Aang catches up. I'd rather not leave you two alone..." She glared down at Azula, "I still have a score to settle with you for hurting Aang. You're so lucky that Zuko's standing that close, I would've struck you down already."  
Ty-Lee frowned as she was buried nearly all the way in the earth, "Well this is a predicament..."  
Aang smirked and leapt backwards more than an arms reach away from her. He slammed his foot into the ground and shot another ball of earth at Mai.

Mai felt the rock slam into her stomach and she fell down hard, yelping in pain. "Ow!" She forced herself up, but she was obviously in pain now, her body swaying from side to side. She didn't make a move, she only stood in the avatar's way. 

Zuko smiled warmly. That was the nicest thing Katara ever said about him lately. She didn't strike them both down. How sweet. Azula just stood there, not one single move being made. "It seems Mai's the only one left... I just heard her in pain a second ago though.. She won't last much longer either." Zuko frowned in concern. "I didn't hear her in pain.." Azula raised a brow. "Your ear must be deaf on your bad side, because I certainly heard it." 

Sokka smiled at Ty-Lee and winked at her. "It certainly is, isn't it." 

Toph frowned at Sokka, jealous. 

Aang saw her sway, and took in a deep breath, he then sent a blast of air towards her, hoping to knock her down so he could continue. He didn't want her coming up from behind and attacking. He had to be sure she was down. 

Katara stiffened, knowing what Azula was up to, "Don't listen to her, Zuko. She's trying to trick you." She heard the cry as well, but she knew Azula was using it against him. She drew the water from her waterskin once again and prepared herself. This wasn't looking good." 

Ty-Lee sighed and bobbed her head left and right, "Well, I'm completely bored..." 

Sokka twitched his legs. "hey... my legs are starting to get feeling back. How come that lasted longer than the neck move anyway?" 

Zuko nodded, believing Katara's lie as opposed to Azula's truth. "Even if that were true, I have my duties to the avatar. Mai can handle herself.." He couldn't help but worry though. Azula listened intently, apparently for her inevitable defeat. 

Mai dodged the airblast, almost falling over in doing so. "I won't let you pass me." She got right in front of the avatar, attempting a fighting stance. She seemed strangely determined for some odd reason. As if there were some sort of passion driving her this time. 

Ty-Lee smiled, "You have more chi in your legs then in your neck. You must work out quite a bit." She rested her chin on the top of her hands, smiling dreamily up at him. 

Katara heard the doubt in his voice. She also noticed Azula's full attention was on his words. Taking a deep breath, she adjusted her position so her ankle wouldn't ache as much. Her arms were getting tired from the battle, but she forced herself to keep the water above the earth where she could use it. 

Aang was amazed at Mai's sudden show of strength and determination. "Listen, I don't want to hurt you." He said as he too got into a fighting stance. "You're weak, you should just give up for now." 

"Why? Are you afraid of me?" Mai seemed almost angry underneath her monotone voice. Something was grating her, and underneath that calm lake, there was a hint of a strong current flowing underneath. She stopped staggering, planting herself to the ground like an unmovable rock. 

Sokka raised his eyebrows flirtingly at Ty-Lee. "I do work out. Just a 100 or so pushups a day... Nothing major." He flexed his arm muscles. 

Zuko listened carefully, seeming somewhat distracted. As if to counter his distractedness, he pushed the swords a bit closer to Azula's throat. This seemed to make Azula uncomfortable. "I'm not making any moves.. Don't kill me.." 

Aang's eyes narrowed, "A good fighter knows when to quit. You're making a mistake." He quickly sent a blast of air towards her and aimed a punch towards her shoulder in order to make her step back. He then performed a round-house kick in order to sent a strong wave of air towards her feet. 

Ty-Lee giggled, "That's impressive. Have any girls you're seeing? Or are you single?" 

"Well, I'm kind of seeing someone... sort of... Suki. But she was captured by princess cruelty over there and probably you too actually, and I have no idea where you guys are keeping her or if she's even okay." Sokka looked away, saddened. 

Mai fell over with a slight groan, having been knocked somewhat of a distance towards the gang. She didn't give up however, instead she got right back up again, somewhat recovering from the huge rock to her stomach. "Is that all you've got?" Despite her supposed frail status, she began another series of quick and fluid punches, attempting to land anywhere vulnerable. She could tell that she was the only one of the girls left standing, which only proved to irritate her further.

"Hmm…Suki…Suki…That name doesn't sound familiar to me. Of course, I don't usually make it a habit to learn everyone's names that we capture." She cocked her head to the side and smiled sweetly.

Aang swiftly covered the distance between the two and threw his staff into the ground in front of him, sending a blast of wind that continuously tried to push Mai back. He then lashed the weapon in the air left and right to create more waves of air that flew at her with increasing speed.

Katara took a brief second to look back over to where Aang was. She couldn't see him at first, and her heart sank in her chest as she realized that he was much further from the group then she would have liked. She could see him fighting Mai in the distance. He was doing his best to push the girl back, but she continued to get up and try fighting once again. Why was she so determined to stand in his way? Couldn't she see that the battle was lost already?

Zuko watched for Aang and Mai; he heard the battle. He just couldn't see them, but that soon changed. There was Mai, being completely obliterated. He could tell that Aang was holding back, but his heart still jumped at the sight of her sliding and rolling in the dirt, only to rise again and take another shot.

Azula took a glance at each of the Avatar's allies. The watertribe girl was glancing at the Avatar and Mai, as was her traitorous brother. Sokka was busy conversing with Ty-Lee, and even so, he wasn't a threat. The earthbending girl was obviously hurt and seemed to be paying more attention to the Avatar anyway. This was her moment.

She had been slowly melting away at her ice prison from the inside this whole time, the true reason she dared not move. The ice around her shattered as she shot a blue fireball right into Zuko's stomach from point blank range. Her devious plan had worked flawlessly as Zuko dropped his broadswords and collapsed to the ground with a pained growl.

Azula wasted no time, attacking the waterbender with no mercy. Azula was attempting to cause her to lose her balance, attacking her good leg with a low swinging fire kick.

Mai noticed that Zuko was down, and visibly it didn't seem to matter to her. (Not that Aang and crew would know they had a "thing" for each other in the first place.) She only needed to hold out for a little while longer. She stood in Aang's way once more.

Sokka attempted to get up once he noticed that all was not well for the Gaang. However, his legs had only remotely regained feeling, and so he "flopped" to Katara's rescue. It wasn't an impressive sight, and he didn't really move at all. "KATARA!" He saw Zuko go down, but really, he only had time to name one name and Katara was more important.

Toph, who'd been completely overlooked, felt rather irritated at this. "HEY! DON'T OVERLOOK ME!" Although it hurt, she tried to make a projectile rock. It didn't really work, so she got down on her knees and began using her hands for earthbending. She tossed rock after rock at Azula, who barely even cared enough to block them while attacking Katara.

Katara saw the flash of sapphire flames and she gasped as a wave of blue fire came towards her feet. She staggered backwards, throwing her arms out both to try and regain her balance and to send the water she had in reserve towards Azula. However, the water evaporated as more flames continued to come, and it took all of her concentration to keep her arms moving to negate the attacks. Unfortunately, as she backed away, her injured leg gave way and the flames streamed towards her. She cried out in pain as the blue fire engulfed the right side of her body. Her working leg, now burnt and weak, collapsed beneath her and she fell to the ground. Her breathing came out harsh and ragged, and her scalded, bleeding arm lay uselessly limp beside her.

Aang was about to send another blast of air at Mai to push her back more, but stopped right in his tracks, his staff raised in the air, as he saw Katara fall. His heart plummeted within him, and his staff fell from his shaking fingers to the ground. He was paralyzed by shock and fear, and couldn't bring himself to move an inch. His eyes glistened, and gleaming tears rolled down his face. Unable to control himself, his shaking grew worse and his knees buckled, causing him to fall to the ground. He couldn't think…he couldn't move…he could only kneel and stare, feeling his world crash down around him.

Zuko was down for the count, and although he tried to stay conscious, it wasn't working out very well. He knew Katara was in danger, but pretty soon he forgot who Katara was, or where they were. He began dreaming about his mother and his body relaxed.

A tear rolled down Sokka's cheek as he saw Katara fall nearby. He smelled her singed flesh. He knew she was in danger, and that he had failed to protect her. He grabbed his boomerang and was about to make a move, but something happened that stalled him.

Azula was about to finish off Katara when Momo grabbed hold of her face and began tearing at her hair viciously. While Azula was so distracted, Sokka took this moment to tie a rope to his boomerang. He threw it at Azula's feet and as it came back, it twirled around her legs and brought her crashing to the ground. Appa came to Aang's rescue, slamming his tail and sending Mai flying quite a ways from the fight. Azula finally got hold of Momo, throwing him away from her.

Toph took this chance to cover Azula's torso and arms with a solid layer of rock. She left her tied legs exposed so Sokka could gain access to his boomerang again. How thoughtful.

Aang shook his head quickly, trying to get rid of the fear that paralyzed him, and he appeared like a blur as he knelt at Katara's side. He cringed as he saw her wounds. Her right arm was completely black and cracked. The edges of her clothes were scorched, and were stained dark red. Her eyes were closed, but she was breathing, low and shallow. Aang closed his eyes, "Please be okay..please be okay…" He took her unmarked hand into his own and gently pressed his forehead against the back of it. 

Toph got on all fours and crawled to Aang and Katara's side. She couldn't take the pain in her feet anymore. "Aang, we need to get out of here now while we still can." Sokka forced himself to his feet. His legs looked like jelly, but he was standing. "Take my sister Aang. I'll carry Zuko... er... if I can.. We should just leave him here.." He sloppily walked over to Zuko and attempted to wake him, but he was out cold. "aw man.." Sokka shoved Zuko over his shoulder, only to fall over from the added weight.

Appa walked over to Aang and Katara and waited patiently for Aang to allow him to help. Sokka rephrased how he was going to help. "Nevermind.. Maybe you should get Zuko on Appa. I'm having trouble staying up by myself.."

Aang nodded and supported Zuko on his shoulder and brought him up Appa's tail in order to set him gently down in the saddle. He then leapt down and helped Toph to her feet, being careful so he wouldn't accidently hurt them. He helped her up onto the flying bison as well and glided back down.

When Aang took another look at Katara, he felt another twinge of fear. How injured was she? She was the healer of the group...she would have to heal on her own until she recovered enough to help herself, and who knew how long that would take?

The Airbender sighed and gently slid his arms beneath her back and beneath her knees in order to gently lift her from the ground. He then turned to Sokka, motioning with his head towards Appa so he would get on first. He then stomped on the ground, making a pillar of earth rise beneath his feet so he could rise up to Appa's saddle easily without bumping Katara at all. He gently set her down, and, wiping a stray strand of hair away from her face, blinked away the tears that continued to come.

Sokka sat beside Katara, and as much as he tried to remain the strong leader like figure for the group, he couldn't help but cry seeing his sister hurt so badly. She was his backbone, and if she were to... No, it was too painful to think about.

Toph sat by Sokka and Aang, silently supporting everyone with every ounce of mental strength she could psychically throw out. She wished for everything to turn out alright. She didn't cry, but she wanted to. She sensed the seriousness of Katara's injury. And Zuko was hurt too, which she felt kind of guilty about not caring enough.. but she just didn't know him that well.

Momo climbed on Aang's shoulder and rubbed against his face comfortingly. Sokka decided he'd take the reigns, wiped his tears and broke the painful silence that had surrounded the group. "Yip yip Appa." And with that cue, Appa was soaring through the sky. Sokka knew he had to go back for the others and their stuff, but then they'd have to leave immediately.

For Aang, the tears came slower, and soon stopped completely. He wiped his red, wet eyes and swallowed painfully, keeping his fingers wrapped around Katara's uninjured hand. It began to sound like he would never master the Avatar state at the rate he was going. Such a blow to the heart revealed how much he cared about her. He couldn't begin to think about how hard it would be to let her go, to forget her all together. He wouldn't even allow the thought of her not making it invade his mind. He forced it out, forming a barrier around his thoughts to avoid the painful thought that was on everyone's mind.

"We need to find a new place to lie low so everyone can rest and heal…" He gulped in a breath of air and let out a shaky sigh, "We can't stay at the Western Air Temple…and we have to find a place where that giant machine of theirs can't reach. We have a little time, but we have to make haste."

Sokka landed them at their little home base and the others gathered around. "Listen up everyone. We've got a bit of a problem. It seems Princess Azula of the firenation has caught up to us, and she's only been stopped temporarily. We need to get out of here now." Everyone picked up their stuff, got on Appa, and they left.


	2. Episode 2: Midnight Mayhem

**And here's the second Chapter Hope you like it**

**Once again, Kuro and I do NOT own any of these characters '**

**Episode 2: **Midnight Mayhem

As the day turned to evening, Appa landed in a small earthkingdom island that was mildly inhabited. The others had decided it was best to split up for now as Appa couldn't handle such a large group of people. And so it was only Aang, Sokka, Katara, Toph, and Zuko. And Momo and Appa of course.

Everyone needed to rest. Sokka was feeling better, so he helped tend to Katara and Zuko's wounds the best he knew how, and set up Toph with a water bucket. Toph was feeling the weight of everyone's emotions, plus her own. It was pretty draining.

Sokka rinsed and dressed the wounds, but after that all he could do was sit and wait. Katara and Zuko were injured pretty badly. They also needed their temperatures lowered, because burns tend to cause internal body heat to rise, so he kept cold wet washcloths on their foreheads.

Aang watched, worried, as he sat on a crude bench that he pulled out of the ground with earthbending. He was leaning forward, almost far enough that if he bent any farther, he'd fall flat on his face. His look of concern never faded. He knew it would take longer than a day for them to recover, but Sozin's comet was drawing nearer, and time was fading fast. Their group was weakened, and Azula knew that. Eventually she would be right on their tails once again, and this time they may not make it out "victoriously".

_Katara found herself back at home, awakening once more to the sounds of battle outside of her icy house. She shivered, yet felt sweat running down her brow as she stood up and walked outside. She was afraid to look at the fight itself, but her dream forced her to turn her head. Instead of fire nation soldiers, the ones fighting against her people were Azula and her two friends. Zuko lay unconscious on the ground, and Aang, Sokka, and Toph were doing their best to keep the others at bay, but they were covered in ghastly injuries. Their fighting spirits were weakening, and they soon fell to the ground._

_Katara froze as Azula turned her cruel eyes to her. The Fire Princess's fingers lifted, aimed at Katara's chest, and a bolt of lightning shot forth, blinding her as it came right for her._

Still deep in sleep, Katara's chest rose and fell with a sharp, deep breath, revealing her troubled rest. Aang jumped and went to her side, seeing if she was awake, but her eyes were still gently closed. He gave a disappointed sigh and sat down by her side, rocking back and forth in nervousness.

Sokka came back from shopping for dinner. He'd luckily found quite a lot of money in Zuko's man-purse, and surprisingly some of it was earthkingdom money. He began to cook up some fish and some rice, all the while watching Katara. Toph had been silent, picking at her nose.

Zuko looked around. He was in his big luxurious bed at home, but somehow he wasn't. He got up and looked out the window, only to see himself and Katara laying injured in some unfamiliar place. This was some odd dream. Why would he be injured? He pondered this for quite some time before realizing that he was dreaming. He'd been injured by Azula. Right at that moment, he felt himself laying on the dirt. He heard Azula speaking. "They.. my friends.. they're in danger. Aang, I've failed you. I need to get up and help."

Zuko stirred, groaning. His whole body felt as though it were burning. It felt so heavy. But he had to make sure to help if something was still wrong. So he forced himself to open his eyes and look around. Everything was blurry. His eyes were so dry.

Sokka turned his attention to Zuko while he stirred the rice. "Aang.. Did he just make a noise? Did he wake up?"

Aang's head shot up to look at Zuko. A stroke of guilt shot through him. Since he was so worried about Katara, he'd nearly forgotten the prince that fought valiantly against Azula. He walked over to the injured teen and leaned over him to see his face, "Hey Zuko...are you awake now?" he asked. He saw Zuko's eyes opening, and he motioned to Sokka, "I think he's coming to...He doesn't look too good..." He frowned and waited for Zuko to awaken more fully. He hoped the prince was okay, though he felt terrible for neglecting him when he was injured. He had to make it up to him somehow.

Zuko struggled to focus his eyes for about a minute. He could tell that Aang was right by his side, so perhaps they weren't still fighting after all. "Azula..." he managed to scratch out. He sat up quickly, only to hold his stomach in regret. "What happened? Where's Katara? She's hurt isn't she.."

Sokka watched from his cooking dinner. "Aang, give him some water. I think he probably needs it." He privately wondered how Zuko knew Katara had been injured. That happened after he went out cold, right?

Aang jumped as Zuko sat up and held his stomach in pain, "Whoa, take it easy, Zuko. You were burned pretty badly back there…" He looked over towards a nearby water pump and streamed a bit of water from it before pushing the hovering orb of water up to Zuko's mouth, "Please drink…Yes…Katara's hurt badly…She's burned from Azula's attack…we're not sure when she'll come through." He avoided the word 'if'. His heart was broken enough, he didn't want it to feel worse, "She's right next to you…if you want to see what happened…"

Zuko stared at the watery orb as if thinking "what the heck am I going to do with this?" He then tried to drink from it, which was surprisingly easier than he thought it would be. He sipped the whole thing rather quickly and then turned to look at Katara. He winced, his heart dropping. This was his fault. He should have protected her.

The banished prince clenched his fists and muttered angrily. His eyes teared up a bit, and then he spoke. "I'm really sorry. This is my fault. If I were stronger, I could have faced my sister. She probably found us because of me. And I should have been stronger..." He wasn't one for apologies, but he couldn't help in his fevered state to say what was on his mind. He wasn't sure why he was crying. Probably because his eyes were so dry. Yeah. 

Azula loomed over him in his mind, and he felt so small. He felt as though she could steal everything he worked for from him. It made him feel vulnerable and terrible. Even in his fevered state he didn't dare say this out loud. He just continued to appear angry over the whole thing.

Sokka dove into working on dinner because he was in too much pain to think about it all.

Aang looked down sadly at the ground, "It's not your fault, Zuko. We all weren't prepared, and we suffered the consequences for it..." His eyes turned to Katara and a shiver ran through his body, "We just have to train…and grow stronger. Also, we have to stick together. Separated, we're vulnerable, but if we're together, we'll be stronger than any opponent, no matter how fierce."

After that was said, a nagging thought appeared at the back of his mind, _But what if the team is permanently separated…what if she doesn't survive?_

"Augh!" Aang slammed his fist down on the ground, sending a small blast of air up into his face. "I feel so powerless! How can I save the world if I can't even save the one I love!" the tears began to flow once again, and he cried out, "Why does it have to be this way!"

Zuko watched Aang with sympathy. He couldn't save the one he loved either. He couldn't save his mom and now he can't save Mai. She was fighting his ally, and therefore she was his enemy. That hurt him so badly. He placed his shaking hand on Aang's shoulder. "She's a strong girl. She'll be alright. Burns cause shock and fever. It's not the injury itself that's keeping her from waking up, but her body's reaction to it. This won't kill her. It takes a worse burn than that to kill someone." As he spoke he grew quieter until his voice was barely audible. He was trying to be strong, but he kept feeling his mind drift to unimportant matters. Such as a random childhood story his mother had told him. He also thought about how this one time he saw his father trip on a rock. It was the first time he realized the man was even human. He closed his eyes for a long moment and then forced them open again to be there for Aang.

Sokka pulled the dinner from the fire and went to check on Katara and Aang. And maybe Zuko too, but he was probably fine. He gave Katara a fresh cold wet washcloth and bathed it across her skin, trying to cool her off. "Aang, we'll get through this. Zuko's right. He'd know this sort of thing." Zuko wondered what that was supposed to mean, but he tried to take it as a compliment.

Aang nodded softly. He really wanted to believe what Zuko was saying was true, "Okay…I sure hope you're right." He gave Katara's hand a gentle squeeze and got up to go see how Appa was faring, "I'll be back. Tell me if she wakes up…" He sent a small current of air towards his staff that was leaning on a nearby pillar and caught it in his hand. He then turned his back away from his injured friend and walked in the direction that the great flying bison was resting. Momo looked up after stuffing a nut he found on the ground in his mouth and swallowed it whole before clambering up onto the Airbender's shoulder. Aang smiled and, feeling a little better after Zuko's words, scratched the lemur behind the ears and made his way towards Appa.

_Katara once again found herself waking up, only this time she was in an unfamiliar place. A wall of fire separated her from a shadowy figure on the other side. She shakily got to her feet, watching in fear as the center of the flames parted, and Zuko stepped forward._

_The Waterbender stepped backwards, away from the approaching firebender, but she paused when she saw another person behind him. Without thinking, she cried out in warning to Zuko, but a flash of blue fire appeared and struck him down. As he fell, she could see Azula standing behind him with her fist smoking in mid air. Outside, Katara could hear a voice shouting "The Fire Lord has been slain! Azula is the new ruler of the Fire Nation! All hail Azula!"_

Zuko struggled to stay awake, but his body gave in and he laid back down again. He had a short day dream as he watched Katara. She sat up and told him about her healing powers. He thought back to how she'd gotten water from the spirit oasis in the North Pole, and then he realized he'd been there before. He didn't know why he hadn't seen it sooner. The fish swam in a beautiful little pool that he sat in front of. Spirit water, water bending... healing. An epiphany came to Zuko. He snapped back up, holding his stomach and wishing he hadn't. "Aang... Why don't you heal Katara?"

Aang stopped in his tracks and looked down at the ground, "I can't…I never learned how to heal…" He gave a helpless sigh and looked over towards the horizon, "I should've had her teach me, but I guess I was so busy with learning the offensive moves that I never thought about being able to use Waterbending for healing." He smacked himself on the top of his head, "I'm such an idiot…"

Katara stirred slightly, and her eyelids opened into mere cracks. The darkness of sleep faded from her mind, and the pain from her wounds overtook her and she let out a weak groan of pain while clenching her good fist. She could see the sky, noticing that the moon hiding in the bright blue was almost full. Her mouth opened and her voice came out in a weak whisper, "A..Aang?"

Zuko, who'd been sitting right beside her in his makeshift bed, was the first to notice that Katara was awake. He kneeled over, however painful it was, and watched her open her eyes. "Welcome back to the world of the living Katara. I wasn't awake for it, but it seems my sister-- I mean Azula-- did quite a number on you." Sokka rushed to his sister's side. "Yeah, you were really feverish for a while there." Zuko butted in. "It seems like you got mostly second degree burns, and they hurt more, but that's because the skin is still somehwhat alive and they're not as severe. They'd heal all on their own in about a week."

Zuko's stomach didn't hurt all that much, and he wondered if that meant he'd gotten away without much injury or if that meant he'd gotten third degree burns. He'd had third degree burns before, those are the ones that scar. They kill the skin. He couldn't help but wonder if under those bandages, he'd end up with another scar. But now wasn't the time to worry about himself.

Aang heard the whisper and turned to see Zuko being the first at her side. His brow furrowed, a slight tinge of jealousy filled him, but he cast it aside and walked up to her, his legs feeling like jelly. She was alive…she was okay…His heart lightened, and his steps quickened as he went to the other side of the bed and peered down at her.

Katara's blurry vision cleared to see Zuko looking down at her. Was that concern she saw in his eyes? Their words barely registered in her brain until her thoughts were clear enough to allow her to take in what they said. "A…week?" she closed her eyes, and opened them, now seeing that Aang had joined the two to gaze down at her, "How bad…does it look?"

Aang sighed, "Pretty bad…but it'll be fine. Once you gain your energy back you can heal yourself as much as you can." He was completely relieved that she was awake. It felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders, and he allowed them to relax, "I'm so glad you're okay."

The Waterbender gave him a weak smile, "I'm glad I am too…" She turned her gaze to Zuko, remembering that he was struck down before she was. She opened her mouth, about to ask if he was okay, but the words wouldn't come out. She lowered her gaze and then turned her sapphire eyes to Sokka, "Did I…give you a scare, brother?"

Zuko withdrew again once he was certain she was alright. Surely the last thing she wanted to see when she first woke up was the banished firenation prince anyway. "I'm lucky to be with them at all", he replayed in his mind again and again. Sometimes it was the only thing he could do to keep from hating her. He couldn't help being concerned and guilty too. Her burns seemed worse than his. Well, he didn't see his yet. Out of curiosity he wanted to unravel his bandages. Not in front of -her-. He didn't want -her- to see any of his weakness.

Sokka filled in the head space where Zuko left it. "A little, but you're strong Katara. I knew you'd be okay. I just wish I could have protected you better. I should have taken out Azula sooner." His eyes became wet but he wiped them with his arm. It was times like this when he saw her so frail and human that he really thought of her as the younger sister he swore to their father that he would protect at all costs from the Firenation.

The honorable prince pulled himself to his feet and sat near Toph. Without even so much as greeting her he shrugged off his robe and began unraveling the bandages neatly into a roll around his finger. The skin had blackened and seemed bleached toward the middle and red and swollen around the edges. "My sister really tried to kill me", he mouthed, unable to actually say it. His head lowered in shame.

Katara noticed that Zuko pulled out of her view. She turned her gaze away and reached up with her unwounded hand to take Sokka's, "Thanks, Sokka…And don't worry…it wasn't your fault." Her hand jerked back and she cried out as a sharp burst of pain shot through her arm. As her good hand met contact with the burnt, cracked skin, her eyes widened in shock and she turned her eyes downward to see the wound. It was worse then she thought…Her eyes then lifted towards the sky, seeing the bright round moon.. At least she would be at full strength tonight…she should be able to heal a majority of her wounds.

"I'm also sorry, Katara. I wish I could've been there sooner."

Aang's voice was a large source of comfort to her, and she gazed into his grey-brown eyes, "Enough apologizing…You guys can't blame yourselves for this…We all were just unprepared." Even as those words slipped out of her mouth, she as if she couldn't follow them. If she hadn't gone off on her own, they may have been more alert and the outcome may have been different. 

Sokka continued to watch his sister with concern, and then he got all big brotherly angry at her. "If you hadn't gone off on your own, this wouldn't have happened. I won't let you out of my sight anymore... except if it's not far away. This isn't the first time this has happened young lady. Remember the time with the scroll?" He wished he had his beard, but it had disappeared. 

So instead he just stroked his chin. He had to lighten the tone of the group otherwise he'd get really depressed. "I'm sure Zuko remembers the time with the scroll. Don't you--... Hey, where'd he go? Wasn't I just explaining how if someone wanders off it's a BAD THING! Where is that jerk! I'm going to give him a piece of my mind."

Toph shrugged. "He was sitting next to me just a second ago.. but then he left. He's probably going to relieve himself or something. Chill out Sokka and serve us some grub. I'm starving."

Katara's eyes narrowed at Sokka's over protectiveness and in order to keep her dignity intact, she argued back "Hey, I don't need you to constantly keep your eye on me, Sokka! And that scroll event was different! You said so yourself, I'm stronger now, and I can take care of myself! I just was caught off guard, that's all!" in her agitation, she had began to push herself up, but the pain in her arm caused her to fall right onto her back.

"Katara, take it easy!" Aang said as he gently pressed down on her shoulder to keep her from getting up again, "You need to rest, and maybe have something to eat. Save the arguing for another time. We've been through quite a bit." He looked around, his attention brought to the absence of Zuko, "Oh great…I'll go look for him…You two keep an eye on Katara, make sure she doesn't injure herself." He pointed at Sokka's face, "And try not to get her irritated."

He flicked open his glider and shoved off into the sky. He gave a friendly wave to the others before he circled higher into the air, hoping to find the runaway prince.

Sokka made a face at Aang. "Of course I'm going to irritate her. Everything I do irritates her. I'd have to be dead not to irritate Katara." He looked at Katara with a smug face. "Hungry? This fish isn't two headed." Toph replied. "I'M hungry. Give me food too."

The runaway prince was lit in the moonlight as he walked through the forest. The weather was beautiful out, so he didn't mind not wearing a shirt. He was uncomfortably warm even, maybe because of the burn. If he could find a stream, a river, or a lake, that would be really nice. "Sokka doesn't know anything about burn wounds. If I don't take care of this properly it will become infected", he grumbled to himself under the roar of nightlife. And there it was, the sound he'd been listening for. Running water. He knew they had to be near water. He walked towards it and found himself at the site of a beautiful waterfall. He tested it with his hand. "This area's gentle and the water is nice and cold." The prince stripped down to his fancy princey underwear and slipped right in.

Katara slowly lifted herself up. She felt quite a bit of her strength returning as the light of the moon struck her face. "I'll have some in a bit…I need to do this…" 

The pain that went through her leg as she stood up was nearly unbearable, but she had to get near to a good patch of plants that would allow her access to water. When she reached a good spot, she pressed her palms against the ground and lifted them in order to form a large stream of water that lifted into the air. She closed her eyes and concentrated on moving it over her burns, sighing in relief as new skin replaced the broken, blistered flesh. Though her arm stung badly, she continued to move the water, drawing her strength from the moon as she continued to heal herself. After a few minutes, she was done, and she looked as if she hadn't been burned at all. She moved her arm experimentally, smiling as she felt no more pain. "Much better." She gazed up at the moon and took in a deep breath. She felt as good as new, and it surprised her. Just a few minutes ago she was barely able to move. And now…

Aang felt the warm air against him as he flew over the trees in the forest. "Zuuukooo!" He kept his voice between a yell and a whisper in order to prevent calling attention to himself if enemies were nearby. He kept his eyes moving as he flew around. He heard the sounds of running water, and followed it, remembering Zuko's burn. He arrived at the waterfall, and saw that Zuko was in the lake. Quietly, he landed and folded up the glider. He then walked out into the moonlight to confront the prince.  
"Zuko…why did you run away?"

"Run away?" Zuko gave a small chuckle once he noted the young boy's face of concern. "I was going to come back. Even if I wanted to I don't think I could get you out of my life." He continued scrubbing away at the intensely damaged skin, exposing what one could only imagine was the muscle or something disgusting underneath. He had a huge and painful looking injury, yet his facial expression made it seem as though he didn't feel it. It was the same aggravated face he always seemed to have on. He was either avoiding Aang's gaze or he was really into what he was doing, but either way he was essentially shutting Aang out mentally.

Sokka and Toph ate alone, leaving some for Aang, Katara, and Zuko. They sat together, and Toph seemed to really enjoy herself.

Aang sat on the shore with his knees pressed against his chest and his arms wrapped around his legs. He kept his gaze on the waterfall itself, to try and keep Zuko from being uncomfortable. He wasn't sure how bad Zuko's injury was…he never asked, and now he felt terrible for it. He opened his mouth, then closed it, before asking, "Is it bad?"

Before she had to make her way back, Katara took the time she had in the moonlight to practice her waterbending in case of another attack like that. She created two streams of water, and punched towards a rock nearby to send them flying at it. She closed her fingers together to tighten the pressure within them, allowing them to impale the boulder with ease. She smiled, and then it faded into a groan. Why couldn't she fight Azula when there was a full moon?

Zuko watched the silvery water for a long moment before answering Aang. "... It's.. I've had worse. At least this time it's not on my face..." He sounded really sad, tired, and old before his time. He knew his wound was really bad, but he didn't want any pity. The Avatar was probably really naive, Zuko thought. A part of him really wanted to reach out to Aang though. Aang said they were friends. This meant a lot to him, but he just didn't want to be perceived as whiney or weak. "I'm fine", he finally spoke as a more direct but unconvincing answer.

Toph smiled at Sokka's general direction. "This fish is really good Sokka. Thanks for cooking it." Sokka smiled back obliviously. "Well I didn't think Aang was in any state to cook, and I wanted fish anyway. He's a vegetarian.

Aang heard the sadness in Zuko's voice. There seemed like there was a sort of longing in his voice as well, a longing for a friend. Aang looked down at the grass, he couldn't imagine what it was like to live without friends. Even before he met Sokka, Katara, and Toph, he always had Appa. But Zuko had no one…well, he had his uncle when he was still chasing after them, but after that…he had nobody.

After practicing a few more moves with her increased abilities, Katara turned around and went back in the direction of their camp. Her stomach was growling, and she didn't want Sokka to worry about her. She smiled and, closing her eyes, whistled a tune in order to dispel any anxiety she had left after her injuries. 

After a long period of silence Zuko groaned in irritation. He wanted Aang to butt in, but he didn't. But he did. But he didn't. "urrgh... " He felt awkward. "So... How is Katara doing?" He decided it was best not to talk about himself afterall. That would be weak.

Aang sighed, and couldn't help but smile, "She's back to her old self again. The full moon tonight helped out quite a bit. She should be able to heal herself easily. Maybe she'll help you if you just ask." He smiled, looking on the bright side of things. But he had noticed that Katara kept herself distant from Zuko ever since he joined. He still wasn't sure if things changed.

Katara arrived at the camp just as Sokka and Toph were finishing their food. "Did you guys leave any for me?" she asked, sitting on the ground across from Toph, "I haven't eaten in a whole day!"

Sokka gave her a bowl of fish and rice. "Here you go Katara. You're healing powers are amazing. Are you going to heal prince stuffy pants?"

Zuko eyed the full moon with wonder. "I don't think she would. I'm fine anyway. I don't need to be healed." It's just another scar, he thought. "I walked here just fine, didn't I?" He began to sound defensive, as if he were trying to be overly convincing.

Katara took the bowl greatfully and took a few bites before she answered the question, "I don't know…he probably wouldn't even want me to heal him…His injury…how serious was it?" she asked. Deep inside, she was concerned about him. He did help her in the fight…the least she could do was to offer some help.

"I'm going to go see…if his injury is serious…I don't want Aang's last chance of firebending dying out on us…" She didn't mean for it to sound cold, but when the words came out, she wished she could take them back. Instead, she turned and walked in the direction of Zuko's footprints. 

Aang shrugged, "All right, suit yourself, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind. You fought bravely back there. Besides, it will be more comfortable and safer for you if your burns are healed. We never know if your sister's going to attack again."

Sokka watched as Katara didn't even give him the chance to really say anything. "Uhhh... It's pretty bad! That's probably why Aang got so concerned and went looking for him! Heal him and come back! Your dinner is getting cold!" He made a face.

It seemed as though Aang hit a soft spot for Zuko. The banished prince turned away once his "sister" was mentioned. "It's not a matter of if. It's a matter of when." He put his back to Aang, dipping his head under the water and then pulling back his hair with his hands. He'd stopped picking at his wound recently. "I can still fight... I don't need any help from Katara."

Katara heard Sokka's voice fading as she continued on her way. Soon, she began to hear the crash of a waterfall, and Zuko's voice rose above the sound. "I can still fight... I don't need any help from Katara."

She stiffened at the sound of her name and she silently hid behind a nearby bush. There was a small space in it that allowed her to see Aang and Zuko from a certain angle, and she could hear them well over the falls.

"Something's bugging you, Zuko. Why don't you tell me? If you don't share your thoughts and feelings, you're just going to be miserable the entire time." Aang relaxed more, stretching his legs across the soft grass so he could unstiffen his bones, "Come on, spill."

"I think Azula tried to kill me today. Aren't siblings supposed to love each other?She told me herself that she didn't want to kill me, and then she almost did." Zuko sat up on the grass, keeping his legs in the water. He turned to face Aang, his face like a wounded puppy. "And I can't help but feel Katara got hurt because of me. I should have noticed that Azula was plotting. Instead I was too busy thinking about my cranky girlfriend." 

Zuko frowned at the thought. "Mai's my girlfriend. At least, she was. I don't know if we're still together or not because we haven't talked since I ran off to join you. But anyway.. I'm walking on egg shells with Katara, and I don't want to bother her with healing me. Even if it's bad now, it'll just leave another scar. I'm pretty used to those. Really. Please don't ask Katara to heal me. The last thing I want to do is... that. She hates me."

Aang sighed, "From my experience with Sokka and Katara, I know that siblings are supposed to love each other. But Azula is cruel and heartless, I wouldn't put it past her to do something like that." He sighed, "And I know how bad distractions can get. There were a few times they got me into trouble, but I know there's always a way to make things right again."

Katara felt her heart sink at Zuko's last statement, "She hates me." She closed her eyes and shivered. She had never used that word to describe her before. The word "hate". Was it true? Did she really feel that way about him? She had threatened to kill him if he made one move to harm Aang, but so far that hasn't occurred yet. Maybe she was too harsh…

"How do I make things right Aang?" There was hiding desperation in the teen's voice. "I know I can save my nation... and the world from destroying itself by helping you to overthrow my father." Zuko took his legs out from under the water and began running his hands up and down them. His fancy underwear was drenched, so he decided he wouldn't put on his fancy pants just yet. He realized just then he'd never been nearly naked in front of anyone except for servants. It was awkward to him. He closed his legs and sat real proper-like to avoid showing his undies.

"I know.. I can be a great Firelord some day and help bring peace back to the world." He thought to himself for a moment, pausing. "But.. I'm not sure how I can keep Mai... through all of this. Her family is very loyal to my father. But... If I have to lose her, I will. We're both depending too much on each other for me to... betray you." Zuko hadn't spilled this much to anyone since he last spoke to his uncle a while back, he realized. "Aang... I also want to set things right with your friends. I... even... would like to be friends with them... um someday", he spat out awkwardly as he curled into a ball, avoiding touching his raw stomach. 

"I don't blame Katara for not trusting me. Though I wish she understood me a little better at least. I wish... she knew how much being on your side helps me too. It's not as though this is some one sided deal." Zuko stood up and pulled on his pants. He then raised his arms slightly and shrugged his shoulders for emphasis. "I have nowhere else to go; You gave me a purpose. And a home." He lowered his voice and spoke meaningfully, and there was love and respect in his eyes as he looked down at his friend. "You gave me hope." 

The firenation prince sat back down again, facing Aang. "I can help end this war now, which means as much good for my nation as it means for the other nations. Whether my nation knows it or not. It's not like the firenation will ever truly win this war. The other nations hate us... And we gave them good reason to." After their eyes locked onto each other for a few more moments, Zuko decided he'd speak. "And that's it. That's everything on my mind. That's what's bothering me right now, okay? Happy now?" It wasn't EVERYTHING that was on his mind, but it was a huge chunk of it. The rest was none of anyone's business except him and his family's. And he'd never really been much to talk this much, so he was certainly stepping out of his comfort zone for Aang. 

Aang listened intently, taking in every word that Zuko spilled out. He waited for the Fire Prince to finish divulging his thoughts, and he noticed that Zuko had a look on his face that showed he had nothing more that he wanted to say. So, realizing it was his time to talk, Aang began to state his thoughts on Zuko's explaination.

"You pretty much answered your first question, Zuko. You can help us by joining us in overthrowing your father. And by continuing my lessons in Firebending." As for Mai…we'll have to see where her heart leads her. Either with her family and friends, or with you…" He frowned. The chances of the girl joining them were probably very slim.

"I'm sorry I can't help change Katara's mind about you. That's something you'll need to talk to her about…And I'm glad you feel at home with us. You gave me hope as well when you joined, since I had no other way to learn firebending." He smiled warmly to his new friend, "Thank you for that, and thank you for telling me all of this. I hope we can all be friends sometime soon as well." He smiled and stood up to stretch, throwing his arms into the air to unstiffen them.

Katara listened intently as Zuko shared all of this information with Aang. What would he think if he saw her eavesdropping? She still felt blood rushing to her face after he stepped out of the pool. After that she quickly looked away and continued to listen, blushing profusely.

He did sound sincere about helping them, but she still knew that Mai might be a problem in the future. What if his love for her was greater then he was letting on? And if Azula ever got him alone again, and used Mai against him, well, what would happen? Could she trust him to make the right decision still? Unfortunately, there was only one way to find out, and that would be if it actually happened. She sighed and waited to see if they would say anything else. She still wasn't convinced that he changed completely.

Zuko listened quietly to Aang's reaction, watching his face for anything else he could draw. Aang was really easy to read, unlike many of the people he'd been surrounded by his entire life. He could tell that his words touched the young Avatar. It made him happy that they connected, and he was especially pleased with the fact that this connection he had with the avatar wasn't absolutely forbidden to him anymore. He smiled warmly at Aang's optimism, putting Mai out of his mind.

The impatient young prince should have waited longer for his underwear to dry, because now it wet his pants. His smile at Aang turned to an embarrassed glance at his pants. He placed his hand on the wet part and began heating it so it might dry faster. The other hand was on the ground behind him, holding him up shakily as he sat. "So you think I should talk to Katara... I could give that a try..." Attempting to dry the wet pants while so tired, injured, and hungry was proving troublesome, so he gave up and laid down on the grass. His body felt very happy to lay down. "... maybe after a little nap", he spoke in a weak cracking whisper.

Aang sensed Zuko's tension ebbing, and he was surprised to see that he got a smile from the banished prince. When he saw that Zuko was looking down at his pants with an embarrassed look on his face, he noticed the wet spot and laughed softly, "Man, I couldn't have ever imagined a moment like this when you were out chasing us! It seems that since you're hanging out with the group now, fate has been playing funny tricks on you."

He smiled as Zuko lay down on the ground. "You go ahead, I'll keep watch." He rested his back against a tree and pressed his head against the backs of his hands as he gazed up at the star-filled sky. In the distance, he could hear the dull echo of thunder. It felt great to have Zuko on their side. He was a strong ally, and a great teacher.

Katara had to keep herself from laughing aloud as she saw Zuko's pants. She threw her hands over her mouth to prevent any sound from escaping. Sokka would love to hear about that…but then again, he may not approve of her eavesdropping on Aang and Zuko's conversation. When she saw the Firebender lie down and close his eyes, she relaxed slightly. She wondered if she should go back and get some rest herself, but she stayed rooted to the spot. She had plenty of energy, and Zuko might not take too long anyway. Instead she gazed up at the sky as well, smiling as she gazed upon the wonderful sight.

"Mm.. You know... Fate had been playing funny tricks on me since I was a small boy... So this is nothing new. Why do you think I never successfully captured you? The storm, the blizzard, my becoming a fugitive.. Oh, I don't think I told you about that... That's why you didn't see me after the incident at the North Pole. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it... fate's been making us allies all this time..." Zuko smiled happily, opening his eyes and watching the starry night sky. He really liked Aang. The pain of the wound was the only thing that kept this moment from being perfect. "I'm really thirsty", he mumbled to himself as he forced himself to sit up again. The injury was starting to show through his tough guy act as his body trembled with every forced move. He drank from the river voraciously, cupping his hand again and again do drink.

Aang gave Zuko a light-hearted chuckle, "Like I said before, I had a feeling that you were supposed to be my Firebending teacher."

He watched as Zuko got up to get a drink, and noticed that he was trembling. "You really need to ask Katara to heal you…you don't look so good…" He sighed and looked back up at the sky. The memory of when he was shot down by Azula came to him, and he frowned, "Zuko…I need your help. You see, when I was attacked in my Avatar State by Azula, my seventh chakra, the one that is locked when I'm attached to worldly things, was blocked off." He turned his eyes down to the ground and sighed, "I don't know if I even want to try and unlock it again. In order to do that, I have to let Katara go, and lately it's been increasingly harder to think about doing it." His shoulders slumped as he rested the side of his face against his knees, "I don't want to take her out of my life. She means everything to me…but if I'm to defeat the Fire Lord, I have to master the Avatar State. My duty is to the world, but I don't want to lose Katara because of it…"

Katara's heart felt like it stopped when she heard Aang's words. Her attachment to him was preventing him from going into the Avatar State? Why hadn't he told her this before? She felt tears beginning to form in her eyes, and she quickly blinked them away. She couldn't let them hear her…She wanted to hear Zuko's reaction, yet the words that Aang said were replaying in her mind, tearing at her thoughts, only to leave a bitter, empty hole in her heart. 

"How am I supposed to help you with that? And I told you I don't want to ask Katara for help... If you have to let go of Katara, I say you just do it. It's not like it's permanent. It's just during the avatar state, right? It makes sense that to reach the avatar state you'd have to be without distracting emotions. In order to be a great master at firebending you'd also need to be clear of distracting emotions. You're a monk, right? It's just like meditating. You don't think about anything while you're meditating. You clear your mind and feel one with the world." Zuko had finally drank enough and then he laid back down near the river. He looked really drained. 

Aang closed his eyes, "I don't know…Every time I entered the Avatar state and lost control of myself, Katara was always there to help me. I'm afraid that if I let her go, I won't be alert to my surroundings and I may lose control again…" He shivered, "And the last time I unlocked the seventh chakra, I didn't feel like myself…And another thing, when I saw that Katara was hurt, and you guys needed me the most, I couldn't keep my mind off of her. There's no way I can clear my thoughts of Katara during a battle when there's the risk of losing her…"

Zuko could barely pay attention to Aang talk in his state of fatigue and injury, but he heard what was necessary to continue the conversation. "... You're too worried over all of this. You're the avatar. You've got the firenation prince, a master water bender who can heal, a brave and smart water tribe warrior with a killer knack for getting out of tight situations, and a blind master earthbender who sees with her feet. You've got a giant flying bison and a flying lemur too... My father doesn't stand a chance... And Katara can take care of herself. You're insulting her by being so worried over her. She's not some frail little flower."

Aang listened carefully to Zuko's words, and realized that they actually did have a chance, even if he did master the Avatar state. He lightened up a bit, and gave Zuko a nod, even if he couldn't see it from his laying position. "You're right, I guess I don't have to worry so much. It's great to have such strong allys on my side. I don't even think Roku had it this great." He smiled and lowered himself so he could lie on his back, "You can get some rest now, Zuko. You definitely deserved it."

As he gazed up at the sky, he noticed that the thunder had stopped. So the storm wasn't coming their way. That was good. He was having a good time looking up at the beautiful stars that filled the darkness above. 

Katara thought that she regained her composure enough to stop blushing, but Zuko's comment only served to make her face redden once again. He gave her an actual compliment after all she did to him? It didn't sound like the Zuko she remembered at all. But still, there was still that nagging feeling within her that told her she had to watch him, to make sure he didn't decide to change his mind. It sort of frightened her to see Aang alone with him, she still wasn't comfortable with having Zuko in the group. So, giving a tired sigh, she continued to watch and listen.

Zuko perked at the name "Roku", but he decided that was for another time. Yet again, more family business than Aang's business. Although he couldn't help but wonder how much Aang knew about Roku, about Zuko's family.

He wondered what the group thought about his uncle's whereabouts, or if they thought of him at all. He did save Aang, so certainly at least Katara must've wondered once or twice. Maybe that's part of the reason she hated him so much, because he betrayed uncle at the same time. No, that was ridiculous. She never mentioned Iroh to him. That guilt still hadn't dulled one bit, and the fact that he couldn't apologize made it worse. He drifted into dreams about his uncle; he plotted the perfect words to display his innermost emotions. 

Iroh turned his back to Zuko, a taller and greater man than Zuko last remembered seeing him. Zuko got on his knees with respect. "I made a mistake. Please forgive me. Uncle, I never realized how important you were to me until you were gone. When I was alone I felt there was no one by my side. Not my sister, not my father, not even my girlfriend. You were the only one who ever cared about me. You're the one who's been a real father to me." In Zuko's dream, he was a broken and small child, but at the same time, a grown and lonely firelord. More vulnerable than he'd ever admit, and yet he had everything he'd wished for.

Zuko had fallen asleep on his back, facing the stars, sweating because of his wound. His face appeared very peaceful, at least on one side.

Sokka picked at Katara's unfinished food, stealing the fish out of it piece by piece. "Where is she? I mean, I went to market, SLAVED over this food. And she doesn't even eat it. And Zuko doesn't either. Well it was his money, so it's his loss. Ha.. I should just eat the rest of it." Toph shrugged her shoulders as she picked the peeling skin on her feet. "Sokka, I guess it doesn't matter. But when they come back and find out you ate it all, they'll just think you're a greedy jerk." Sokka frowned and stuck out his tongue at her as if she'd see it, and then turned his attention to Toph's feet. "Eew, the skin's coming right off. That's really gross. How are your feet anyway?" Toph wiggled her toes. "They're starting to feel better as long as I don't stand on them."

Azula smiled confidently from within her vessel, watching over a small group of workers who maintained and drove her vessel. Looking from one friend to another, especially at Mai, she began her well devised statement. "Mai, Ty-Lee, listen up. Here's what we are going to do. We are going to stop here and continue tracking them on foot. They couldn't have gone far. We are going to analyze the situation once we find their position and fall back. We will not give away our presence until I say so." She eyed Mai. "Mai, is something bothering you?" The young noble lady finally bothered turning to face Azula. "No." Azula watched Mai with a careful eye, and then seemed concerned. "Are you sure? It's okay if you're not happy." Mai lowered her eyebrows. "I'm sure."

Aang grinned as he saw Zuko close his eyes and fall asleep. He looked so peaceful…a sight that made him smile after knowing about all the Fire Prince had went through. He saw that Zuko was sweating, so he went over to the lake, wet a piece of cloth, and rested it upon the wounded teen's head. He then went back to his spot by the tree and looked around, watching as a squirrel-owl took off out of a tree across the lake on silent wings.

Katara closed her eyes for a bit and took in a breath of the night air. She looked at a blade of grass next to her feet and drew a small drop of water from it. Out of boredom, she made it follow her hand as she waved it through the air. Sokka and Toph might be worried about her, but they can wait. She wasn't going to leave until Zuko and Aang went back. She could just tell them that she was training in the forest.

Azula stopped the vessel quite a distance from where she suspected her targets were. "Let's go ladies." She stepped out with a dark cape over her somewhat dressed down armor. "Don't forget, this is a stealth mission. The fighting will come as soon as we confirm their status and location."

It didn't take long to find their targets. The giant white bison gave them away, but even more-so, it was someone's big mouth. "Ah ha ha ha! Toph, that's too funny!"

Katara heard Sokka's voice echoing through the forest. Yeesh, he should just shout their location to the entire world at the rate he was going at. She gave a sigh, she shouldn't complain. They've been through a lot, Sokka should be able to have a little fun if it'll take his mind off of their problems. She turned her attention back to Aang and Zuko. The Firebender was sleeping soundly, snoring softly as he rested, and Aang was just looking around at his surroundings, taking in the scenery.

Azula quietly researched Sokka and Toph from the distance for quite a few moments before moving on. "Could it be? Could they actually be separated? And the blind earthbender is unable to sense us coming due to her burned feet." Azula spoke very softly as to not give herself away. She didn't know where the three others were. Backtracking somewhat as to avoid accidently running into anyone, Azula heard running water not too far away. 

"That makes sense.. The watertribe girl and my brother were burned, so they're probably near a water source." She soon spotted Aang and Zuko. "No sign of the watertribe girl, but that might as well. It's a full moon, and even injured I wouldn't take her lightly." She took a bit more time to examine her handiwork. Zuko was probably completely incapable of fighting. before backtracking a bit again. "Ty-Lee. I want you to take care of the watertribe boy and his earthbending companion quickly and as quietly as possible. Be sure the girl can't earthbend this time. Mai and I will take care of the Avatar and my traitorous brother." The Firenation princess scanned Mai for a moment before waiting for Ty-Lee's response.

Ty-Lee smirked and nodded in response before she vanished into the shadows, only to reappear close behind Toph and Sokka. Convieniently, they were sitting next to each other, so she only had to leap up and aim well, and they would both be out.

As quick as a flash, the acrobat leapt out of the shadows of the tree and her flying fists aimed at every pressure point in both Sokka's and Toph's bodies that she could get to from their position. 

Toph's eyes widened. "Someone's ambushing--", but it came too late. She was REALLY going to get Zuko back for burning her feet. What a pain. Both she and Sokka were down quickly. "EHG!" Sokka wiggled around on the ground, attempting to get away, but it only looked amusing. "HEEELP!"

Mai immediately jumped and landed between Zuko and Aang and pulled Zuko up roughly by the shoulders. "Two can play hostage", her grainy and monotone voice echoed as she placed a dagger to Zuko's neck. She quickly began to back away, especially from the waterfall. For someone holding a hostage she was surprisingly fast.

Zuko awoke to a familiar scent, and then a cold feeling knife against his neck. "Mai?" His eyes widened as he recognized the situation he was in. "Aang!"

Azula launched a fire attack right in Aang's path, closing off the route. The flames quickly caught in the dry summer forest, spreading rampantly, and Zuko was nowhere to be seen. She landed in the same spot that Mai had landed, getting right in Aang's way. "Where's your waterbending friend, Avatar?"

Ty-Lee laughed at Sokka's display as he tried to squirm away, and she walked over to him and put her hand over his mouth, "No more of that, sweetie. We don't want to wake up the whole forest now, do we?" She giggled, "You guys aren't going to trick me this time. I'm going to keep a closer eye on you."

Aang gasped as the flames spread, separating him from Zuko. He reached for his staff and sent a blast of air at the nearest flames, but they were soon replaced by more.

Katara quickly got to her feet as the events occurred quite suddenly. She threw her hands forward into the air and they began to shake as the waterfall began to lift and curve around the lake. Sweat ran down her brow as the vast amount of water circled around the clearing and splashed down onto the flames. She made sure most of them were out before she redirected the water back to its original spot. After taking a few quick breaths from controlling such an immense amount of water, she leapt out into the opening and got into a fighting stance, "Miss me?" she asked, smirking as the water crashed down back into the lake, causing quite a bit to splash over the shore.

Azula's face expressed mild surprise as she looked over at Katara. "You look a lot better than my brother. How would that be?" She kept a casual stance, almost seeming bored.

Mai forced Zuko to walk quickly with her, and since he was so injured he followed along without any struggle. He couldn't tell how Mai was feeling because he couldn't see her face, but he was obviously feeling awkward. "So.. Mai, you're really holding me hostage?" Zuko's voice came out weaker than he meant it to. "What do you think this knife is for, a haircut?" Mai sounded bitterly sarcastic, but other than that he still couldn't read her.

A look of complete rage appeared on Katara's face and she snarled, "That's none of your business." She reached her hand towards the lake and caused a stream of water to flow to her in preparation for Azula's attack. "You chose a terrible time to attack. I'm sure you know my power is at it's strongest when there's a full moon." Her eyes flashed dangerously in the moonlight. She was ready for a rematch, and nothing was going to keep her from it.

When the flames cleared, Aang took a look around. Katara was ready for a fight, and her target was Azula. He could sense her rage, and he decided it wouldn't be wise to be caught in the crossfire between the two. He tapped his glider on the ground, causing the blue wings to unfurl from the staff, and he leapt into the air in order to reach a higher view point to find Mai and Zuko.

Mai lead Zuko to their vessel and forced him inside. She pushed him on a chair and began tying him up. Now this was just plain embarrassing. She didn't expect him to try and escape her at all once he didn't have a knife to his throat? So he struggled out of her grasp and headed for the door, only to be pinned and easily overpowered. They looked eachother in the eyes for what seemed an eternity. Zuko blushed and turned away. "This is really awkward..." Mai frowned. "Why, because you left me and now I'm here to take you back kicking and screaming?" Zuko's eyes widened. "I didn't leave you, well, I mean.. It had nothing to do with you. I still want you in my life, it's just that my destiny is with the Avatar. I need to overthrow my father so that the fire nation won't destroy itself in this war." Mai watched Zuko carefully, blushing at the things he said. "I don't understand what you mean..." Zuko looked at her. They were both pretty red in the face. "..." "..."

Mai began kissing Zuko as she held him there, and the prince placed his hands on her hips, kissing right back. He was relieved that she didn't hate him, but confused as to why he was kissing her instead of escaping. Well, he probably couldn't escape anyway, being so injured and all. He'd just stay here with Mai until he was rescued.

Azula turned tail and ran, smirking the entire time. The waterbending girl may have been her enemy, but she wasn't her prey. She quickly dodged into the bushes, lighting a flame behind her to ensure her timely escape. If she could get to Ty-Lee before Katara, she might stand a chance.

Aang watched as the giant metal worm came into his view. It was partially submerged in the ground, and from the looks of it, it came from the sea around them. "No way…they can track us overseas as well?" He gave a frustrated groan and soared down towards the side of the machine, where the door was located. He stuck the tip of his staff in the crack where the door met the rest of the beast and pushed hard, trying to pry it open.

"COWARD!" Katara roared. She leaned towards the lake and threw her arms over in an arc-like motion, causing a large wave of water to come out and separate over her head before it crashed down on both sides of her. She leapt up and used the wave to propel her forward in the direction Azula ran. She then leapt down from the wave when she drew near enough and punched her arm around and forward, causing the water to collect in a stream in front of Azula's escape route. The giant wall of water grew to surround them both, drawing water from the trees around it. Katara stepped forward and bared her teeth menacingly, "I have a score to settle with you, princess! Turn around and fight!"

Azula turned to face Katara with a knowing smirk. She got into a fighting stance. "Are you so sure you want to do that? Ty-Lee! I hope you've properly accommodated our guests! Bring them to their quarters while I take down the waterbender." She thought that by now, the Avatar must be catching up to Mai. Things didn't quite go as she planned, but she hoped that Mai would improvise properly.

Mai and Zuko continued to kiss passionately within the confines of the structure, not knowing that Aang was right behind them. They spoke brokenly between kisses, muttering things about Zuko's plan and what they'd do about it, and how exciting it was for Mai to do something entirely unacceptable behind Azula's back. She was kissing a traitor, which she found just as exciting as a prince. Maybe a little more. 

Sokka screamed, muffled by Ty-Lee's hand. "URRMF! Kntarna!" Toph decided to do the yelling for him. "Katara!" Azula frowned. "Don't you hear me Ty-Lee! I hope you've finished tying them up!"

"It's time I do something for myself. I'm tired of following Azula's orders and my parents' orders all of the time. But this is a secret. You and I... I mean." Zuko nodded, dumbfounded from his great luck. "Yes.. Of course. I understand... I.. I..." Mai and Zuko stopped kissing and stared at eachother for a long moment. "I not only don't hate you. I um... I think... I..." Mai raised a brow. "You what? Say it." Zuko looked into Mai's eyes. "I think.. I love you.." He gulped as Mai's placid eyes continued to watch. "... I.." She blushed. "I love you too." And so the kissing ensued.

Several men overheard the banging of the outer door and prepared themselves to fight, while others guarded the door Mai and Zuko were in. They weren't very scary, just normal guards. Probably more repairmen and trackers and such.

Ty-Lee jumped at Azula's voice and quickly began to bind the blind Earthbender and the water tribe warrior. When the two began to cry out for their friend, she quickly grabbed wads of cloth from her pockets and stuffed them in their mouths, hoping it would shut them up. She then grabbed the back of their shirt collars and started to pull them in the direction of the giant worm.

Aang gave one final push and the door into the giant beast slid open, allowing him to step inside of the darkened walls. He immediately saw a group of Fire Nation men with spears aimed at him, and he quickly threw his hands together and sent out a dome of wind that slammed into the men, sending them flying down the hall. He managed to catch the attention of two guards at the doorway, and he lashed down his staff at the ground to send a sliver of air flying at them, causing them to meet he same fate as the men before them. As he threw open the door, his eyes grew as wide as saucers as he stopped in his tracks. 

Immediately, his entire face turned red as he saw Zuko and Mai kissing each other. He stared for a while, unsure of what to do, and shook his head to snap out of it. Then, he twirled his staff through the air to cause a strong wind current that flew at the two, "Sorry to break up your little 'happy time' but right now we have to go!" He grabbed Zuko by the wrist and pulled on his arm, "Are you coming?"

Katara reached into the wall of water and grabbed enough of it to use as a weapon and charged towards Azula, "I'm more sure then ever!" As she charged, she heard Toph's voice, but continued onward. She flung the tip of the whip towards Azula's arm as she ran up and quickly yanked it back before throwing a fist towards the Princess's face.

Zuko and Mai both stared back at Aang, their hair all messed up from the air current. The banished prince was obviously mortified. "I can explain--" he spoke with wide eyes and a red face while he was being tugged. Mai pushed on his shoulders harder and gave Aang a slight glare. "Stop pulling on him. Just give us a moment."

Mai gave Zuko one last kiss, and he kissed back with an astonished and bewildered look on his face. "It seems I've lost again. Oh well; victory would have been really dull", she spoke while watching Aang and Zuko with a small smile. She let go of Zuko and shooed him off. "Go on before I change my mind." Zuko raised his brow and followed Aang out the door. His heart was racing. "What just happened? I'm so confused..." He wished his uncle were there, even though he'd probably just embarrass him really badly. He also wished he'd just swallowed his pride and asked Katara to heal him earlier.

Azula prepared a blue fire blast and aimed it right for Katara's stomach as she dodged the fist to her face. She also decided to play offensive and fire kick tripped Katara, a smooth transition from her dodge and blue fire blast. "Even under the full moon you don't stand a chance!"

Katara easily twisted aside as the flame came towards her stomach. As she fell to the ground from the kick, she growled menacingly and made a quick jerking motion with her right hand. Three long spear-like pieces of ice came soaring out of the wall of water towards Azula's back. Using this as a distraction, Katara performed a backflip to get back onto her feet and she twirled around, her arms outstretched, and caused another stream of water to rise out of the ground. It spun around her protectively and she shot it forward, aiming it down at Azula's feet. "I beg to differ!"

Aang glared right back at Mai and his shoulders tightened, "You're confused! I happened to be the one walking in while you guys were playing tonsil hockey! You better explain what you were doing on the way." He started out of the metal worm and frowned at Zuko, "Are you coming?"

Zuko made a face at 'tonsil hockey'. What an inappropriate name for kissing the woman you love. "I told you I can explain, and don't you see my feet walking with you? Of course I'm coming." He stepped over a guard and walked into the open night, waiting a few long moments until they were a good distance from the worm. "I told you that Mai wasn't going to convince me to leave your side. It's not like I planned for her to hold me hostage and drag me away! I would have fought her but there was a knife to my neck until-- Wait. Do you hear that..?" 

Zuko looked off into the night at supposedly nothing. The distraction was almost too convenient. He pulled Aang by the shirt into hiding. The prince's eyes were very aware of something as he turned back around to peek. "I believe I hear two people being dragged in the forest", he whispered harshly. Just then some faint dragging could be heard and what appeared to be muffled screams faintly appeared behind the music of the night. Zuko's eyes narrowed to pinpoint a location as if he were a cat stalking its prey. He attempted to climb the tree they hid behind only to drop down, wince and cover his burn protectively as he crouched on the ground. "ugh.."

Toph was beginning to regain movement, and more importantly, continued to try earthbending with the raising of her head. Sokka watched Toph as she nodded again and again with concern. "What's with her head?" He thought. He would have asked except they were both pretty well gagged--grossly. Just then a big rock smacked into his bottom as he was being dragged and he muffled a yelp in pain, followed by a series of muffled and loud nonsensical obsenities.

Azula heard the icicles that were coming for her back and dodged, only to turn and find that Katara had attacked again. Her feet were bound in ice, so she bristled and created a whip of fire. The firenation princess swung it fervently at the waterbender's least guarded spots. As she attacked, she also forced a quickened thaw out of her feet. She knew she should probably escape; her abilities were weakened slightly during the night and the waterbender's were given a lot of strength during the full moon. She knew full well she had a 50 chance of losing this battle, but hopefully it would be worth it to have her brother and the avatar's friends in custody. Hopefully the avatar too.

Aang opened his mouth to argue but Zuko yanked down on his shirt, causing him to crash ungracefully onto his rear. Likewise, when Zuko tried climbing the tree to get a better look, he fell unceremoniously to the ground. "You know, you really need to take it easy, Zuko. I'll go see what it is." Aang rolled past the brush and stopped behind a boulder so he could get a good look. Ty-Lee was dragging Sokka and Toph, both who appeared to be paralyzed. Well, Toph was nodding her head, trying her best to bend the earth, and Ty-Lee was oblivious to this. Unfortunately, Sokka's muffled shouting caught her attention.

"What are you complaining about?" Ty-Lee groaned in frustration and yanked on Sokka's shirt collar harder. She then paused in her tracks, and directed her eyes towards the area that Zuko was hiding in. Letting go of Toph and Sokka, she swiftly vanished into the darkness, to investigate the area.

As the whip of fire came towards Katara, she quickly drew some water from the wall and sent her own water whip at the flame, negating the attack. Her concentration on the circle of water was weakening, so she quickly drew even more water from it and threw her fists forward, sending two streams crashing at both sides of Azula. The wall of water began to shrink, but she continued to send waves of it towards the Firenation Princess. 

Azula had nowhere to go but backwards, so she cleared a path for herself in the forest and ran for it. She didn't appear scared, but it was obvious she knew she was temporarily outmatched. She wouldn't be stupid and fight until she got herself injured like Katara. She ran toward the town that was not too far away, using the bushes and branches as cover from Katara's attacks.

Zuko glared at Aang for rushing off without even allowing him a chance to reply. He already knew exactly where the target was, and he wasn't about to 'take it easy'. It's not like he'd ever 'taken it easy' before. His good ear perked and his eyebrow raised. The dragging had stopped, but someone with light footsteps, probably female, was coming right his way. Drawing all of his strength, he quietly snuck into a nearby bush. He would have normally climbed, but this would have to do. Sitting in the bush he realized how tired and feverish his body really was and it took everything in him not to pass out. "Bad timing, bad timing, bad timing..." was all he could think about as he concentrated on his immediate surroundings. "why am I in a bush again? Where am I? It's night time? Aren't I supposed to be sleeping? Where's Aang?" His mind quickly deteriorated until he passed out sitting up in the bush. 

"gfuuu! Aangf! Garara! MFF!" Sokka felt his voice begin to hurt from attempting to be heard. Toph rolled her eyes. They were left alone and all Sokka could do was scream some more? It was up to her then. She began forming a rock into a knife underneath her, which took some time with what little movement she had, and sliced slowly at the rope, weakening it.

Katara quickly raced after Azula, quickly streaming water into the waterskin at her side as she ran. She dodged the branches and trees that got in her way, making sure she didn't lose sight of the enemy. She knew she could end the "fight" quickly, and use Bloodbending, but she never wanted to use that technique ever again. Not unless one of her friends were in danger. It was tempting though…it would be the perfect way to bring her down. But the technique was evil…and Katara knew deep in her heart that it was only to be used as a last resort.

Groaning at the unfairness of it all, she quickened her pace, finding that she was drawing nearer to Azula, and the town. Her heart gave a leap of fright. What was she planning?

Aang looked around the trunk of the tree and his eyes widened in shock when he saw that Ty-Lee was nowhere to be seen. He took this chance to quickly and silently leap out into the path where Sokka and Toph were laying and he kneeled down beside Toph, "Need help with that?" he whispered before using a sliver of air to slice the ropes. He took the gags out of their mouths and threw them back before helping Sokka.

Ty-Lee snuck up behind Zuko and was about to use her signature technique, but she stopped when she saw him passed out. She gave a gentle jab to his neck and spine just in case and lifted him onto her shoulder, supporting his weight. She bit her lip nervously when she saw that the Avatar reached the others, but it didn't matter. Zuko was the main target right now, and she had to get him to the vessel as soon as possible.

Toph smiled widely and whispered back. "Aang! You've come for us!" Sokka licked his lips in attempt to wet his mouth again. "Bleh bleh... Aang, hurry up and untie me before Ty-Lee comes back." Sokka felt the ropes loosen and fall off of him and he wiggled like jello. "Errgh.. Why does this keep happening to me? What do we do now? I can't even move!" Toph just shook her head.

Azula watched as the trees began to give way to fields and houses. She was beginning to get exhausted from running so much, but fighting in town would assure she had somewhat of an advantage. The other girl was too soft hearted to do anything that would harm the town. And also, they were about three miles from their allies. The waterbender was completely separated from her friends, who were all a lot vulnerable than she was. It seemed the waterbender hadn't realized this.

The princess finally stopped at the edge of town, worn out. She leaned on a house with a smirk. "You just won't let me escape, will you." She was panting.

Mai took her hair down and began brushing it. It was a mess because of that rude little airbender, but she wasn't really thinking so much about him. She was thinking about her boyfriend. He was such an honorable prince. "Mai, I'm doing this for our nation. If we don't end this war, the other nations will. We'll never completely win. You've seen the colonies. The conquered people hate us. If we don't want to destroy ourselves, we need to give up the colonies and withdraw." Zuko's words echoed through her head. He gave up everything to do what he believed in, and it had inspired her somewhat.

Aang smiled back, "Of course I did. You didn't think I'd leave you alone now, did you? Especially in the state you guys are in." He helped her up to a sitting position, and did the same for Sokka, "I think I'm going to have to wait with you guys until you're able to move again…I think Katara is going after Azula, and Zuko's keeping watch nearby…at least I think he is." He noticed that Zuko didn't make a sound since he left him. He should at least give them a small wave so they'd know where his position was at. Maybe he sensed one of the girls nearby and wanted to keep quiet…No…something was wrong, and Aang couldn't do a thing about it until he knew his friends would be safe.

Katara stopped a few yards before Azula and held her right hand in front of her, palm towards herself, and the other near her waist in a fighting stance. Her eyes remained locked onto the Firebender, taking in every little move she made to stay alert and aware. With an upwards jerk of her head, droplets of water lifted from the grass around her and formed a ring that she could use when the time came. She knew she had to be prepared for anything. Azula was a talented manipulator. She wasn't going to be easy to fight.

Once Azula caught her breath she fixed up her hair even though it was already perfect. "I studied a bit on the Northern Water Tribe. You've learned how to heal, haven't you? So why didn't you heal my brother?" The princess paused with a devilish smile. "I thought you two really liked each other."

Sokka looked around. "Are you sure we can rely on Zuko to stand watch?" He snorted as if he thought it were funny. Toph frowned. Her 'sight' was coming back to her, and she could tell there was nobody nearby. "I don't know what you're talking about twinkletoes. There's no sign of Zuko or Ty-Lee." Sokka made a thoughtful face. "Did Katara get to heal him like she was going to? Ty-Lee dropped us to go right for something.. or someone."

Katara gave Azula a fierce look, but kept her stance, "I don't like your brother. I haven't had the time to heal him, I was busy…training in order to battle you." She took a deep, calming breath and the water began to circle around her, "Besides, he wouldn't accept my help anyway." Her eyes continued to watch Azula for any betraying movement that would reveal an attack. _Come on, Katara…you can't get riled up this time…just focus…_ she thought.

Aang turned his eyes towards the bushes where Zuko was left at, and his shoulders sunk, "Oh no…Ty-Lee must've grabbed him while I was helping you." He paced in front of them like a caged tiger, growling in frustration, "I can't leave you guys here alone in case one of them comes back, and I can't just leave Zuko to be captured!" He threw his staff on the ground and sat down beside Sokka, resting his head in his hands, "I don't know what to do!"

Ty-Lee groaned as she set Zuko down by the side of their giant machine. The door was open, but she had to regain her breath. He was a bit heavier then she thought, and she had to pull him quite a ways. She deserved some time to catch her breath.

Mai poked her head out of the worm door and looked from Ty-Lee to Zuko. She thought it was an ironic turn of events to say the least. "Oh good, you found him. He'd gotten away from me. Bring him in to the cell." She walked back in to finish doing her hair.

Azula feigned surprise. "Why wouldn't you and my brother get along? He is teaching the Avatar firebending isn't he? The avatar must be such a good firebender by now, because Zuko's exactly who I'd choose for a teacher." The thickness of her sarcasm could choke someone. She didn't seem to be making any moves to attack. Yet again, she was just conversing casually with Katara. The night was growing later, and the air was beginning to get somewhat chilly.

Toph frowned. "Just call Appa or something. We'll be fine. You need a firebending teacher Aang, and if you don't save him, then we'll all.. well, let's try not to think of that."

Ty-Lee nodded and started to drag Zuko into the worm, "You know, you should've really considered keeping a good eye on him, Mai." She brought him into the cell room and rested him on the floor of one cage before locking the door behind her, "Well, at least Azula will be satisfied…I would use the word 'happy' but I don't think that's the best word to use for her." She gave Mai a playful smile.

"Let's just say you're brother and I had a fallout. Of course, that's none of your concern anyway." Katara heard Azula's sarcasm, and bit back a retort. She felt the air cooling down, "Well, are you going to fight or not, Princess? Afraid to get your butt kicked by a girl from the Southern Water Tribe!"

Aang smiled at Toph, even though she couldn't see it, "Good idea…thanks." He pushed himself up to his feet and drew Appa's whistle from within his pant pockets. Then, putting it up to his lips, he blew the solid tune and waited until the bison landed in the clearing. Momo had caught a ride and immediately curled up on Toph's lap, chittering softly.

When he made sure Appa was ready to protect them, Aang grabbed for his staff on the ground and was soon leaping into the air, holding tightly to the handles of his glider. He knew where the worm was, all he had to do was get there quickly and silently.

Toph smiled at Momo and wished she could pet him, but it was all she could do to continue sitting up. She was growing very tired and she leaned on Sokka. Sokka forced himself to balance, leaning on Appa. "He's saving Zuko. That's so funny."

"I'm shaking in my boots watertribe peasant." Azula smiled and palmed the building she'd been leaning on. It seemed she was doing so very intentionally. "You're a cold blooded person, aren't you?"

Mai offered no reaction to Ty-Lee's joke, but continued watching her. "Did you by chance see the avatar? He's the one who broke Zuko free... And I thought you were taking care of the other two." A guard closed the door. "If the avatar knows our position, perhaps we should try to find Azula and leave for now." Mai raised an eyebrow. "You're right." And so the worm began its journey underground.

Katara gritted her teeth, her brow furrowing in a glare, "Not as cold-blooded as you." She had enough talk. The water around her solidified into a thicker stream and she sent it flying towards Azula. Her patience had reached its end. She was getting nowhere conversing with the self-centered Firebender. She had to fight while the moon was still out.

As Aang flew over the forest, he prepared himself when he found the landmarks that were beside the location of the giant worm. However, as he landed on the ground, near to the area, he gasped as he saw that only a large gaping hole in the ground revealed where the worm dug down. He groaned and quickly leapt down into the tunnel. Remembering Toph's lessons, he kicked off his shoes and felt the vibrations in the ground. The worm wasn't too far off. He felt his way through the dark with his senses, his staff clutched tightly in his hand. He needed to find Zuko, and fast.

The worm spit dirt out behind it as it tunneled, making the hole it left behind difficult to navigate without earthbending. The thing tunneled very fast too.

The Firenation prince felt a cold metal wall pressing against him. It felt really nice against his hot skin. He looked around only to see dark gray hues and some blurry shapes. His eyes felt very dry so he blinked a few times and rubbed them to attempt and gain his sight back. His arms felt stiff. Something didn't settle well in his head. "Ughh.. Where am I?"

Azula used the building as cover and then threw a blue fireball at Katara. Her voice raised and her smile grew wickeder as she spoke. "You'd leave your friends for a petty emotion such as revenge. I think that trait quite admirable. And for leaving my dear brother with his injury, I must thank you. I'm sure we've taken him off of your hands by now. And now you'd risk this quiet town's well being to fight me! How quaint. Face it, you don't care about anyone but yourself!"

Aang realized that he couldn't catch up by just running after it. He threw his hands down towards the ground to form a sphere of air and he lighted on top of it with his palm against his knuckles to keep it going. He then gave a flick of his head to cause a large pillar of earth to collide with the ball of air, giving him the momentum he needed to shoot forward.

Katara swiftly side-stepped the flame as it came at her, and swiftly put it out with a water whip so it wouldn't start a fire. She then drew water from the air around her and formed a sphere of ice before shooting it at amazing speed towards Azula, "You're wrong, Azula!" She cried. Deep inside she felt guilt rise up in her gut. But she couldn't let Azula go free…not after what she'd done.

Ty-Lee frowned and tapped her chin thoughtfully, "Hmm…The Avatar? I don't think I saw him around anywhere. As for the others…" She bit her lip, "I couldn't bring them all here at the same time. I was going to go back, but I guess I got a bit side-tracked." After the guard talked to them, she gave a big shrug and grinned, "I'll just get them when we pick up Azula. They may not regain movement for a while, and I'm sure I can take them out again." She held her hands out, locked her fingers together, and cracked them softly, "It won't be too hard!"

Zuko raised his brow. The two people that were being dragged. They were Sokka and Toph. He began to realize where he was. It was a small cell. He looked from Ty-Lee to Mai, and then back at Ty-Lee with a glare. "You're holding me in a cell!" He knew why, it was just a matter or principle. She said she knew him and she vacationed with him, and now just because Azula said so, she'd lock him up. It plain ticked him off. "I'm thirsty! Get me some water!" He looked one step away from biting her head off, and even though he was burned pretty badly, weak, and behind bars, he managed to look very scary.

Azula yet again used the corner as cover. She could tell the waterbender had ceased thinking clearly. She was as easy to get to as Zuko. "The poor avatar and his friends must be having quite a hand full, but I'm sure they understand. I wounded your pride." The princess began her evasive maneuvering yet again, running further into town. Mai and Ty-Lee should meet her in town if they'd gotten separated.

Katara clenched her teeth and rushed forward, sending blasts of water soaring from the ground towards Azula's back. They were drawing further into the town, and soon her feet met cobbled stone streets. She hissed in frustration and twirled around, holding her arm out to catch the water in the air, and threw her arm up into the air as she faced in the direction Azula was running in. A scythe-shaped water attack formed and soared towards the Fire Lord's daughter, freezing to a razor-like edge as it drew close to her.

Ty-Lee frowned and looked at Mai for assistance as she stepped back a safe distance. Zuko was very frightening…she knew it was undignified for him to be locked up like that, but those were Azula's orders…When she saw the burn on his stomach, she winced and turned to Mai, "Should I get him a drink?"

Aang leaned forward on his air scooter, jerking his head left and right as boulder upon boulder fell into his path. He could just barely see the tail of the worm, and it took all his energy to keep himself moving and moving the rocks out of his way.

Mai sighed softly and began to walk away. "I'll get it..." She returned with a big and cold glass of water for the fire prince. "Here." She reached it through the bars. Zuko forced himself to stand up and take it, and then he sat back down again and began drinking it. He had so many things that he wanted to say but dared not mention. The water was really refreshing and it soothed his overheated body. He wanted to start up a conversation but he didn't. Ty-Lee kept staring at him as if she were afraid. "What are you looking at?" He snapped at her.

Azula created a circle of fire around herself and melted Katara's attack until it was nulled. She then began sending fireblasts backwards at Katara while she was running away. As the town became more crowded with houses, she began ducking through alleys and between yards, anything to lose Katara.

Toph was happy that her arms could work now, and she began picking her nose in boredom. "I wonder where everyone else is." Appa had fallen asleep quite a while ago; as had Momo who was still on her lap. "... Man... it sure is quiet here." She suddenly heard a snore. "Sokka!" Sokka perked. "What? HUH?" Toph frowned in his general direction, flicking her finger. "You fell asleep!" Sokka frowned right back. "Of course I fell asleep! It's the middle of the night!"

Ty-Lee leapt backwards, her eyes watering, and she sniffled softly, "I'm sorry, Zuko. Azula gave me strict orders to make sure you were unable to escape. You know how she is…if I don't follow her orders then…well…she's scary…" she shuddered and hugged her arms close to her body, "I don't want you to be mad at me…"

Katara made sure she kept up with Azula, lashing out water whips at the flames that shot at her. Sweat began to drip down her face like crazy, but she continued at the same pace, catching every sneaky movement the enemy made as she tried to lose her. As the Waterbender ran, she lifted her arms over her head in order to collect the water in the air around her. She closed her palms together and moved them apart, causing the droplets to elongate into streams which in turn froze into spears. She quickly pressed her palm forward towards Azula and sent the spears flying forward, her eyes flashing dangerously.

Azula dodged the spears, allowing them to smack straight into the facing of a wooden building, causing damage to it. "I'm over here waterbender! Can you even hit me?" She ducked behind the same building, disappearing from sight.

The firenation prince finished his water and tossed the glass aside. "Of course I'm angry with you! You pretend to know me and care about me, but in the end it's all about yourself!" Zuko got even more angry when he realized he'd done the same exact thing to his uncle. He was too proud to admit it, or even to let it humble him. So this is how his uncle must've felt. He got even more angry.

Katara snarled in frustration and quickly followed, keeping her eyes open for any signs of movement. With a jerk of her hand, the ice shards melted and revolved around her arm for use later. She closed her eyes, listening for any sounds of footsteps. She was rewarded with her patience when she heard them around the corner, and lifted her arm towards the sky, causing the water to shoot up and crash down towards where she heard the sound. She then clenched her fingers tight, freezing the water, and twisted around the bend, readying herself in a battle stance.

Ty-Lee looked down at the ground sadly as tears streamed down her face. She turned around and burst out of the cell room, running towards her quarters so she could be alone. She collapsed on her bed and buried her face in her pillow. She was sad that Zuko was so cold towards her. She wanted to apologize, to help, but she was afraid. Afraid of Zuko, and most of all, afraid of Azula.

Aang watched as he drew nearer and nearer to the worm. The giant machine had no area around its sides for him to squeeze through to reach the door. Its sides were pressing against the earth, allowing no room for anyone to get through. Instead, he leapt off of his air scooter and grabbed onto the nearest separated plate that was on its tail. He pulled himself up onto the thinner area, and held on tightly as the worm continued to surge forward. He would have to wait for it to resurface in order to free Zuko. But for now, he had to ride it out. He groaned in frustration and clutched tightly to the metal edge, this just wasn't his day.

Zuko didn't bother to watch as Ty-Lee left. She deserved her hurt feelings. Mai looked from Ty-Lee to Zuko as she was leaving, gave Zuko a slight frown and followed Ty-Lee. "Hey... Ty-Lee?" She didn't usually initiate conversation, but she'd make an exception this time.

A street rat child of no more than twelve stared up at Katara with big shining green eyes. She was frozen to the ground, tears streaming down her face. She whimpered, her jaw trembling. "Please don't hurt me!" There was no sign of Azula.

Katara gasped and stopped in her tracks. The little girl's frightened gaze tore right through her heart, and quickly she unfroze the water and had it come to a rest beside her.

"I'm so sorry…" she whispered, shaking, "I…was trying to find someone…someone who hurt my friends. I didn't mean to cause you harm." Her voice cracked. She had a terrible weakness for small children. They were just so small and helpless, and the little girl's look of fear continued to haunt her, even as the little one turned and ran away.

She heard footsteps once again, and wiped away the tear from her eye. She didn't want to make another slip-up, so she hid in the shadows, waiting to see who was coming.

Ty-Lee sniffled and rubbed her red eyes. She turned her head to see Mai standing in the doorway, "I just…feel like I need to cry. I didn't mean for Zuko to show such a strong…dislike for me. We used to be such pals…why have things changed so much?" She sat up on her bed and sighed, "Before he was fighting along side of us…and now he's the enemy. It seems unfair."

Mai closed the door behind her and sat beside Ty-Lee on her bed. "I know what you mean. It's not fair. He's only trying to do what he feels is right for his nation... I have my doubts about the war too."

Zuko felt the vibration of the vehicle cease after a slight crashing noise. Had something gone wrong? No. The guards were too calm. They must have surfaced.

"Katara, it's me." Sokka was up and walking, although he felt very awkward while he was doing it. Earlier he knew that if he could get to Katara then his body could be healed and he'd be good and ready to fight again. He'd had a small brain storm as to where Katara and Azula would run off to, and he figured it would be the town. Just instincts. So he flew with Toph and Appa over to the town and began looking for her. He followed the loud fighting.

Katara lowered her guard and sighed in relief when she heard her brother's voice. She quickly ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, and noticed right away that he was a bit tipsy. "Here…let me help." She used the water hovering at her side to coat her hands so she could locate Sokka's chi points and unblock them, "There, you should be good to go in a few minutes…did Ty-Lee get to you?" She gazed sadly at the ground, "I'm sorry I didn't help…I was being stupid and went after Azula on my own."

Ty-Lee sighed and looked out at the door, "It appears we've come back up to the surface. Azula said we should meet her in town, let's get going." Without the usual bounce in her step, Ty-Lee stood up and began to walk out of the door, her usual grin replaced with a look of hesitation and sadness.

Aang felt the fresh, cool air against his face as the worm machine completely resurfaced from the ground. He took this opportunity and mounted his glider so he could land on top of the worm's back, right above the door that he went in before. He didn't have much time to waste, when the operators came out, he would have to go in and help Zuko…again, and then get out as soon as possible. 

A blue fire ball shot directly aimed at Aang, and sure enough, Azula jumped out right in front of him. "Well, if it isn't my lucky day. You've saved me the trouble of finding you."

Mai followed Ty-Lee, not willing to put any effort in hurrying her along. The prince sat in silence, glaring in no particular direction. He wondered if they even knew he was gone. He imagined Aang's response to realizing it. "Oh monkeyfeathers! I accidentally left him all alone while helping my real friends!" No, he probably didn't think of them as any more real. That would be more or less something his sister would think like. "Oh no! Ty-Lee captured Zuko! Oh well, Mai will probably get him out anyway." Zuko made a face. He was really bad at figuring this out, even if only for purposes of passing the time. Aang would come save him, of course he would. He was a friend.

"I forgive you sister. But don't you EVER do that again! And what took you so long with 'going to heal Zuko' anyway? You were gone for such a long time. If you had healed him, we all would have eaten dinner together and gone to sleep before they even ambushed us, and then we could have fought them unified. What were you doing? Training secretly again?" Sokka's little rant ended with one of those 'I'm irritated but concerned' sort of faces where his lower lip pouted in a frown, and his eyebrows were lowered dramatically.

Aang gave a cry of surprise and leapt backwards before sending a blast of air at the fireball coming towards him. He held his staff out towards Azula, an angry look on his face, and yelled, "What do you want with Zuko!"

Ty-Lee stepped out of the worm and noticed Aang confronting Azula nearby. She turned her gaze from the Avatar to her friend, and prepared herself in case she needed to step in. The Avatar's friends might be close by…Azula might need their help in this fight.

Katara looked down guiltily. She sensed her brothers concern, and was ashamed of herself for frightening him, "I…sort of didn't heal Zuko yet…" She winced, preparing herself for an outburst and quickly continued, "I was…eavesdropping on Zuko and Aang's conversation, making sure that Zuko wasn't going to hurt him. This is all my fault…" She turned away and blinked, feeling another tear roll down her face. It was then that she felt the earth rumble and shake, and she pushed out a hand towards a nearby house to keep herself upright. The worm was resurfacing…Azula was going to get away if they didn't do anything.

Sokka also leaned on a house to keep balance. "You what? I knew it. Well, Zuko's been captured and Aang's gone to save him, so I hope you're happy with yourself." Sokka paused and gave her a sympathetic look. "Listen... I don't like him either, but Aang chose him as his firebending teacher and we should respect that. Anyway, before we go help Aang Toph needs healing too. She's on Appa." Sokka walked off, looking to see if Katara would follow. Appa wasn't too far away; he was visible. Toph sat on the bison's saddle, idling.

The firenation princess smiled at the Avatar. "Why are you so concerned? Did he not get to teach you how to firebend yet? What a shame. My brother's always been a little slow." She didn't appear as though she would attack him at first, but she suddenly came at him in the blink of an eye side swiping at him with a fireball in her hand.

Mai waited idly to follow whatever it was that Ty-Lee decided to do. Until others showed up, Azula probably wanted to fight Aang alone anyway.

Zuko, not having much of a clue what was going on outside, laid down on the cold steel floor and closed his eyes. He was so tired, and the anxiety was starting to get to him. What if Aang didn't come? What if he had to face his father again? Nobody else would rescue him, not his uncle, not his girlfriend... No one.

Katara blinked, shedding the last of her tears, and remained silent. She pushed herself back to her feet and paused a second before following Sokka to Appa. She climbed up the bison's tail to get to Toph, and unblocked her pressure points as well. It was then that she opened her mouth to speak, "We have to get Zuko out…Aang can't learn firebending without him, and his wound may be too serious…" She tried to make it sound like she really cared, but it wasn't all that easy. Her frustration and anger at herself jumbled her emotions. The sooner they rescued Zuko and helped Aang, the better.

Aang yelled as Azula leapt towards him, her flaming hand striking towards him. He ducked low to the ground and side-swiped his leg under her, hoping to trip her with a blast of air before he leapt up and stomped his foot on the ground. A ball of earth rose and he slammed his fist into it, sending it flying towards the Princess.

Azula broke the rock with her blue fire attack and purposely blocked Aang's way to Zuko. Taking the avatar down before his friends came was her best chance. "Ty-Lee, get out here!" Her eyes locked onto Aang and with two fingers on each hand she shot two blue fireballs at him. Those amber eyes let on that she was becoming fiercer, more determined than before.

Momo chittered and climbed on Katara's shoulder. Toph sighed happily. "Now let's go help Aang and Zuko!" Sokka whined "and then we can get some well earned sleep! Come on Appa, let's help Aang save Zuko! (That's so weird sounding.) Yip yip!" Appa turned and was guided in the direction that the worm sounded like it was coming from.


	3. Episode 3: The Rescue

**Episode 3: **The Rescue

Aang felt a stab of fear within as Azula's heartless eyes focused in on him. He first slashed his staff upwards towards the left to put out the first flame and then did the same on his right, causing the other to die out as well. He then rushed up to her and performed a flip over her head. As he landed on the other side, he punched his fist into the ground, causing a pillar of stone to shoot up towards her.

Katara peered anxiously over the edge of the saddle as they drew nearer to the giant worm. Without waiting for Appa to land, she leapt down from his side and landed on one knee while holding herself up with one hand. She saw Aang and Azula fighting nearby, but a flash of pink cloth caused her to leap backwards alertly.

Ty-Lee saw the bison flying in and quickly somersaulted forward to fight the Avatar's friends. The waterbender girl was the first on the ground, and her sapphire eyes were blazing brightly in the pale light of the moon. The acrobat swiftly punched out her fist towards Katara's arms, to block her bending, but the girl was easily dodging her every move.

Azula kicked the rock out of the way and grabbed Aang's arm, swinging him away from the worm. She launched four blue fire balls in his direction this time, the tense concentration present on her face. She knew her time was drastically short.

The blind earthbender got off on top of the worm and forced herself to walk on her terribly hurting feet. She could feel the worm underneath her; she could feel its interior. She felt several people's presence inside, including someone she suspected to be Zuko, and someone who may have been Mai. The whole stupid worm was made of metal, so Aang obviously would require her help in saving Zuko.

Azula noticed Toph, but too late. She'd already smashed right into the worm, regardless of wherever that stupid opening was supposed to be. It was time for a change of plans. She ran after Toph to nip that problem in the bud. The princess had a feeling that Mai was betraying her trust and playing both sides, so she wouldn't rely on her.

Sokka quickly followed behind Toph to give her backup, and his eyes widened as he realized they were being followed by the sociopathic princess, who blatantly showed her discontent by throwing fireballs at him as he disappeared into the worm. "Let's hurry Toph, she noticed us!" Toph couldn't hold back her sarcasm. "You THINK? Sokka, carry me. I'll point you in the right direction." Sokka sighed, "Okay! Hop on." He rode her piggy back, and she continually insisted to touch her hand to the metal walls to help her find her way.

Aang took in a deep breath and spun like a top through the air, his arms outspread. This created a shield of wind that kept the flames from reaching him. He then saw Azula running towards the gaping hole in the side of the worm and shouted to Katara, "You have to stop her!"

Katara fired a blast of water at Ty-Lee just as she heard Aang's voice and she quickly drew water from the grass and shot it towards the two entrances, freezing off the way in. She knew Toph would be strong enough to create another way out. She then turned her attention back to the Taijutsu fighter and flung a water-whip at her wrist. The liquid rope wrapped onto Ty-Lee's arm and Katara pulled her towards her before sending a thicker stream of water towards her, causing the acrobat to fall back against the side of the worm.

Azula seemed furious as she leapt over to the ice and quickly began melting it with her hands.

Mai watched as Sokka and Toph came into view and made herself scarce. Azula could throw her little temper tantrum; she wasn't going to stop them from freeing Zuko. It all just felt right somehow. Toph hopped off of Sokka's back and bent the bars. Sokka walked in and shook him. "Zuko, we're here to rescue you." Zuko awoke with a bit of a start. He stared at his unlikely saviors with shock, but quickly snapped himself out of it. He got up and began following them out. "Thank you Mai", the prince whispered.

As Ty-Lee started to get up from the attack, Katara quickly breathed out cold air from her mouth, freezing the girl to the side of the worm. She then noticed that Azula was trying to melt her way in , and she ran over to Aang's side. She quickly lifted a water whip from the ground and sent it flying towards Azula's shoulder.

Aang quickly ran up behind Azula and punched out his fists three times, sending blasts of air towards her back. He stayed close to Katara, knowing that they both outnumbered and outmatched Azula. All they had to do was stall her until Toph and Sokka got out with Zuko.

Azula flipped to the side, turned around, and let out a large horizontal wave of blue fire aimed for both Aang and Katara. She was determined not to lose her brother. She ran over to Ty-Lee and melted the ice that held her. 

Zuko looked at his companions gratefully as they ran for the outer wall. He couldn't help feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. Toph hopped off of Sokka again and brutally smashed the metal, opening it enough for the three of them. Zuko rushed out, wiping sweat off of his brow. The cool night air was really refreshing. "Stay here Zuko. That wound looks really bad." Was that a look of concern on Sokka's face? For HIM? Zuko quickly reacted. "But where is Aang and Katara?" "They're fighting Azula and Ty-Lee, but it'll be over soon. It's a full moon tonight." Zuko bristled. "No, I'm going to help Aang face Azula." He ran off without even a second thought, plunging head first into the battle with a fire blast sent at Azula.

Azula dodged nimbly. Zuko's initial attacks never were accurate. "You're free Zuzu.." Sokka and Toph came fumbling behind, irritated.

Katara lifted her hands quickly and a wave of water formed around her and Aang and crashed down over the flames that came towards them. She then saw Zuko attack Azula and was relieved that the others got him out all right. She quickly raced to join him and gasped as a fist flew near her shoulder, missing it by mere centimeters. She whipped around and sent a punch towards Ty-Lee. More water came from the plants below her and smacked right into the girl's forehead, causing her to stumble back.

Aang went after Azula after Zuko's attack missed and lashed his staff through the air in a cross-like motion, sending an X-shaped blast of sharp air towards the enemy. He then ducked and held his palms outwards, shooting dual blasts of air from his hands.

Azula gasped in surprise, jumping backwards. She attempted to begin to get some distance, but Zuko blocked her off. She was angered at his nerve. How dare her manipulatable brother get in her way? The eccentric princess focused all of her rage on Zuko, attacking him mercilessly. She aimed punches and kicks at him, all filled with venomous blue fire, but he managed to hold his own pretty well, dodging valiantly, with grace and dignity. He was unable to land any hits on her either. The tides turned within seconds, and she had thrown him to the ground. But with a look of fierce anger, Zuko lifted his body with his arms, forcing his body to swing 360 and hit Azula's legs with quite a force. She fell over, slamming onto her back with a yell.

Princess Azula forced herself back on her feet quickly.

Katara saw the flames from the corner of her eye and continued to send streams of water blasting into Ty-Lee to keep her from getting near. She snuck a quick look and noticed that Zuko was amazingly dodging nearly every attack Azula threw at him. As Azula got up, Katara quickly sent a lowered wave of water towards her feet and froze it before twirling around and sending another whip of water towards Ty-Lee.

Aang watched, impressed, as Zuko showed some amazing moves as he avoided the flames. When he was knocked to the ground, he prepared himself to attack, but Zuko quickly recovered and forced Azula down. The Avatar saw ice creeping up on the Princess and he sent a blast of air at one side of her to bring her attention to him. He could sense her desperation, she almost lost this battle.

Ty-Lee grunted as she fell backward from the force of the water. She lightly leapt back to her feet and came after the Waterbender with all she had. Her fists punched out towards Katara, striking out at random places instead of one set area to keep her guessing. It took all of Katara's concentration to dodge them all as she ducked and leapt over the girl's fists, unable to strike back.

Sokka watched the fight for a moment before noticing that Toph had disappeared from his side. He looked around, attempting to find her. She was over at the worm, busting it up with punches. It was too big for her to destroy completely by herself he thought, so he ran over to help her, drawing his sword. If Azula were stranded, the gang could get a good night's sleep. His sword pierced the metal when he attempted stabbing it. Now, where was the most important part of this thing? "If we weaken the teeth... This whole machine would be useless I bet!" Toph looked at Sokka's general direction. "Hey, that's a good idea."

Azula looked over at Ty-Lee with a furious glare. They were outnumbered and outmatched. On a full moon, it was reckless to attack them, regardless of her brother's terrible burn. But she needed to take out her brother quickly; he hadn't taught the Avatar firebending yet. If anyone else, she needed to take him down. Escape was impossible at the moment, since she wouldn't leave Ty-Lee alone. Where was Mai? Azula melted the ice that stopped her and just as Zuko was about to attack her, she went right for his weakest spot, his burned stomach. She sent a blaze of blue fire speeding at him.

Zuko used his fire as a shield but the force of the attack sent him flying backwards, falling over to the ground.

Mai walked over to everyone sleepily, rubbing her eyes. "The guard told me Zuko escaped just now.. Sorry princess Azula. I'd fallen asleep." She didn't actually seem to care either way, but prepared herself to fight. She threw several knives at Katara, running towards Ty-Lee's general direction. Azula gave Mai a look of suspicion.

Zuko forced himself back up, taking a few steps back from his sister. He needed to get his bearings again. The fighting was taking its toll on his body. He realized Mai had entered the fight after all, and that she was going after Katara

Katara caught a flash of metal in her sight and whipped around quickly to send a shield of ice in front of her that blocked the attacks. She then leaned towards the left, avoiding a swift punch from Ty-Lee and ducked to her knees on the ground. Her palms rested on the plants below her and she swayed her arms to the side, sending a thick blast of water at the acrobat. She got back to her feet and made a scooping motion with her hand downward and brought her palm back up, sending a cutting wave of water towards Mai.

When Aang noticed Azula was going after Zuko, he quickly leapt between the two, giving the Fire Prince some times to recover, "I've got your back, Zuko." He said with a smile before sending a pillar of rock flying out of the ground at Azula. He quickly followed through with a side swipe of his staff, sending a horizontal line of air towards her.

Zuko looked ahead at Aang and gave a warm smile. He knew he had to help Aang end this quickly, so he ran to Aang's side, pulled out his dual broad swords, and got into a fighting stance.

Azula saw the pillar of rock and kicked it aside with quite some force, but was swept back by the wind attack right after, causing her to slam her body into the worm. She sat limply against the worm, apparently having hit her head.

The firenation prince rushed over to his younger sister and touched his broadsword to her neck. "It's over!"

Mai dodged the slicing water wave and watched as Azula slammed her head into the worm, empathetically wincing slightly. It seemed painful. Prince Zuko was right, it was over. She wasn't going to fight anymore without the Princess bossing her around. She put up her hands to show she had given up.

Toph placed her hands on the worm's teeth, hoping they wouldn't decide to turn it on conveniently right at that moment. She punched, smashing its teeth and pulling them out while Sokka cheered her on. "Yeah! Go Toph!" Toph kicked one of the broken pieces of metal aside, cracking her knuckles. "That ought to do it. I'd like to see them use this thing now."

Aang gave a sigh of relief as Zuko pressed his blade towards Azula, "Finally!" He paused and heard the crashing of metal and his hand shot in the air, "Yes! The worm sounds like it's down and out, great work, Toph!" He turned his attention briefly to Katara to see how she was doing, and then aimed his staff at Azula's chest just in case, "When Sokka and Toph come back, we can figure out what we should do with her. Do you have any suggestions?"

Ty-Lee saw what befell Azula, and noticed that Mai had lifted her hands into the air to give up. Sighing, she did the same. Better to accept inevitable defeat then to get her butt completely kicked by a water tribe girl.

Katara was about to strike again when she saw that Mai and Ty-Lee had given up. From the corner of her eye, she saw that Zuko had Azula at sword-point, and Aang was standing close behind. Smiling, she gave a relieved sigh and froze thier feet to the ground to keep them from helping Azula, and went to Aang's side.

Without even lifting her head, Azula grabbed Zuko's sword, forcing it out of his hand and into hers within a matter of a second, while at the same time initiating a counter attack. She leaned towards her brother and used her other hand to blast a fireball right into his already injured stomach.

Zuko noticed she'd woken up but only after she grabbed his sword, and before he knew it, something extremely painful had happened and he was on the ground. His own broadsword pointed against his neck as something heavy rested against him. He forced himself to wake up and realized Azula's foot was standing on his wound... which seemed worse than he last remembered. The prince couldn't help groaning in pain.

"It's not over until I say it's over", Azula's eyes dared Aang and the others to even breathe. "I have orders to kill him, so don't take this threat lightly. I will do it if I have to. I won't lose." Mai watched, her hands still in the air. She'd already surrendered; she wondered what Azula had planned to do without her friends. Was she actually going to kill Zuko? No, that couldn't be true. The normally cool headed girl narrowed her eyes at the situation, a lump developing in her throat.

Aang froze as he saw Azula hold the sword up to Zuko's throat. She had them right where she wanted...he lowered his head, the staff falling out of his hands. Zuko was his only chance at learning firebending...and he had become a good friend within the few days that he knew him. If Azula killed him...It was over.

Katara's heart sank as she watched their whole victory go up in smoke. Azula had Zuko pinned, they couldn't fight back. They needed the fire prince...however painful it was for her to think about. She took in a deep breath and mentally cursed herself. She had no choice...

Slowly lifting her hands, she opened her fingers and took control of the water within Azula's arms. She slowly moved forward, forcing the Fire Lord's daughter's sword arm to pull away from Zuko. With a jerk of her elbow, Katara forced Azula to step off of Zuko. Tears began to stream down her face as she continued to keep the girl under her control. She felt like a monster, but she tried to tell herself that she had no choice.

Azula's eyes widened with utter shock. "Wh-what's happening! My body-- It's moving on its own!" She didn't even struggle, she didn't know how to fight it. Looking around, she tried to find the source of what was controlling her, and the only person who was moving was the watertribe girl. She was bending... The princess locked her eyes on Katara, a mix between fear and awe written on her face. "You're controlling the water in my body, aren't you... Clever trick..." When did she learn how to do that?

Zuko looked from Azula's strange activity to Katara, who he noticed was bending. But what was she-- She was bending the water inside of Azula? What a frightening power. When did Katara learn that? She didn't know how to do that when they were in Ba Sing Se. He heard his broadsword clatter to the ground beside him and looked back at Azula. Her eyes were bulging, and she seemed so frail. It almost made him want to stop Katara, but he knew she wouldn't allow them to have mercy on her.

Toph came back and raised her hands, encasing all three girls in stone cages. Mai sighed a private breath of relief for her love, but was very disturbed by the sudden turn of events. It almost made her ill to see Azula look so out of control, but Azula got what she deserved. Sokka ran to Katara's side and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Katara's arms fell weakly to her sides and tears continued to roll down the sides of her face. She could barely feel Sokka's comforting hand upon her shoulder. She felt horrible having to use that ability. It was something she wished she never had to use, but it proved impossible.

Aang looked over at Katara, and saw that she was deeply troubled. "Come on, guys, let's get on Appa and get out of here." He supported Zuko on his shoulder and carefully helped him up, "Katara, you can help Zuko along the way."

The water bender nodded softly, wiped her eyes, and followed Aang towards Appa, keeping her eyes downcast. She refused to look at anyone, even as she climbed up to Appa's saddle. The worm was down, Azula and her friends were trapped for a while, and they all got out alive. She felt like she should be happy, but she only felt the cold claws of dispair around her heart.

The firenation princess was silent as she watched her targets leave. She was filled with fear, something completely foreign to her. She had no control of herself, and all of this time she thought she might be able to win the battle tonight. She would never attack on a full moon again. Never.

As Appa took flight into the air, Katara quickly went to Zuko's side, frowning as she saw his wound. She should've healed it sooner...Another thing to add to her list of screw-ups. She drew water from the air and coated her hands before resting her palms on his wound. The burns were deep, with the added power from the moon, she might be able to prevent it from scarring, but she wouldn't know until she healed it. She began with healing the undermost layer of skin, replacing it with newer, stronger cells. She continued through different layers, repairing nerve cells and tissue fibers as carefully as she could. She couldn't afford to make any more mistakes. When the wound appeared completely healed, she sat back with a groan and closed her eyes. "There, Zuko. I hope you...get well soon." She frowned and then went to the opposite side of the saddle. Her arms draped over the side and she gazed out at the horizon.

Zuko watched with amazement as he was healed. The pain lessened so quickly that it he almost couldn't believe he was awake. He didn't dare say anything more to her. She was upset, and there was no way he could help her feel better. His body was still exhausted, and now that the pain was gone, nothing was keeping him awake. He slumped over, curling into fetal position. It would almost seem as though he passed out, but he was snoring quietly.

Toph felt something tickle her side and touched it. It was a head. "What the--" she felt the face. It must've been Zuko since it wasn't familiar. She realized he had a big scar on one side and curiously fingered it. No one ever mentioned it. He didn't even have an eyebrow. It must've been some accident. "stop it Mai.. I'm trying to sleep..." Toph pulled away. "Who's Mai?" Sokka yawned tiredly. "Oh, you know... that dull girl who we were just fighting who's siding with Azula... who throws daggers and shuriken at us.." Toph raised an eyebrow at Zuko's general direction. Sokka raised an eyebrow too, but he shrugged it off because he was too tired to make any sarcastic remarks. "Ugghh.. why is it when Azula attacks us we always end up getting NO SLEEP?" Zuko groaned. ".. because of your big mouth..."

As Aang held Appa's reins, he peered over the saddle to see how the others were doing. Zuko was fast asleep and snoring. Katara was avoiding everyone's eyes, her own eyelids drooping slightly. The others began to talk in low voices, and he chuckled softly at their conversation. "Don't worry, guys, we'll land somewhere soon so we can rest. I know everyone needs it."

He hoped they could find some place far from Azula and her friends where they could lie low. He felt that, after what Katara did, Azula would be watching her step. There was still one night of the full moon left. That would give them enough time to recover and train, he needed to learn Firebending as soon as possible.

"Come on, Appa, yip yip." He whispered as he gently nudged the bison with the reins. Appa gave a quiet roar and soared quicker through the night clouds.

Zuko fell back asleep quickly, adjusting himself for comfort. This in turn tickled Toph more. "Stop it fancy pants!" Zuko groaned as he was being shoved again and again, and then forced himself up. "Would you stop pushing me?" Toph frowned. "Only if you can stay off of my lap!" With a grunt Zuko turned around and fell asleep on the other side, closer to Katara. He didn't have any more room, and his feet kept getting in Toph's way. She pushed his butt until he was entirely in Katara's space. "Stop touching me there Toph!" With one more prompt shove, Zuko landed right in someone else's lap, and he looked up at Katara with a meek smile. "H-hi.."

Sokka leaned over and spoke to Aang. "Thanks to our latest addition it seems we have absolutely no space.. Hey, I see our campsite. Let's get our stuff quickly so we can get away from this island and hopefully set up camp somewhere else before morning."

Katara gave a start as she felt something land on her lap and her eyes were drawn towards Zuko's face. Blood rushed towards her own, and a look of pure indignation replaced her look of surprise. Her eyebrow twitched as she closed her eyes and tried to keep her cool. Then, while pushing against his shoulder with her hands, she quickly stood up, a bit shakily from being in the air. As he fell unceremoniously back onto the saddle, she folded her arms over her chest and murmured "Hmph…" before sitting down in the opposite corner. The red color never left from her face.

Aang watched this exchange and shook his head, unable to hide the smile upon his face. "That's a good idea, Sokka. I'm sure we all need some room in order to think, and I guess some people need their personal space." He grinned knowingly at Katara and Toph and had Appa land at the camp. It only took a few minutes for them to grab their things and climb back on board, but this left even less room. Fortunately, the nearest landmass wasn't too far away. Appa flew with determination as he saw land in the distance. The added weight was beginning to tire him, but he continued to surge forward.

Zuko laid on top of the pile of stuff with no room for himself, unless he wanted to risk laying on Katara's lap again. And he was whining and groaning the whole time. "There's no room to lay down... I'm tired... I can't believe this. This thing is so slow! How do you guys ride like this? Augh! There's a boomerang poking my side!" He took the boomerang out in irritation and threw it overboard. Sokka watched in horror as it disappeared from sight. "BOOMERANG! NO! NOOOO!" Zuko smiled happily with himself and began to get comfortable. "You're such a jerk! How could you just throw my boomerang overboard!" 

The spoiled prince smirked. "You're the one who put that stupid 'weapon' where I was going to lay. Also, I'm only acting like a jerk because you called me a jerk." Sokka twitched with severe anger. Suddenly, he saw the boomerang come flying back, miraculously. It smacked that self absorbed prince right in his head and bounced over to Sokka, who hugged it as if it were his baby. "You came back!" Zuko growled, holding his head. "I just want to land already! I can see the sun rising! I'm TIRED! Can't this thing go ANY FASTER!" Toph groaned in discontent, putting her hands to her ears.

Katara gritted her teeth at Zuko's complaining. He had only been with their group for a few days and already he was getting on everyone's nerves! Thankfully, Appa had landed in a small glade within a forest and she decided to take matters into her own hands. Grabbing the back of Zuko's shirt collar, she forcefully dragged him down Appa's tail and roughly tossed him face-first onto the ground, "There! Now quit complaining and get some rest, young man! I've had enough of your whining and your complaints!" She threw his sleeping bags down at his side and held her arms stiffly at her sides, fuming comically. She then set to getting the rest of the stuff unloaded, muttering incoherently along the way.

Aang shook his head, trying his best to hold in his laughter. Katara reminded him so much of a mother some times that it nearly scared him. He was glad she wasn't avoiding his eye anymore. It was nicer this way. He quickly set to work, helping her unpack the things and get the sleeping bags and tents out for bed. He was feeling exhausted himself, and was looking forward to spending as much time as he could sleeping.

Zuko fell face first into the ground with a yell of surprise, therefore getting dirt in his mouth. His butt was straight up in the air and it caught his rolled up sleeping blanket, rolled up his back and hit the back of his head. He got up, also mumbling incoherently between spitting, and unpacked his blanket. He found the softest pile of dirt and laid there, covering himself with the blanket and using his shirt as a pillow. He couldn't sleep on his stomach like he wanted to because the burn, although severely close to being healed, wound up hurting still. So he settled with his side, curled up into an irritated fetal position, and fell right asleep.. until the sun hit his face. His eyes opened wide. "The sun's up. Now I can't sleep! I can't sleep during the day! This is impossible! I wanted to sleep!" He was whining so badly that it made him sound less mature than Aang. Being much older than him, it looked pretty bad.

Sokka unpacked his sleeping bag while watching Zuko with growing irritation. "Shut up! Stop talking! You just KEEP TALKING AND COMPLAINING! And that's MY job! So stop!"

Toph crawled away from everybody wisely, made an earth tent, and fell asleep.

Katara stiffened at Zuko's continuous griping. It was bad enough having Sokka, but to have the pampered prince complaining and keeping them up, well, it was bad enough. Frustrated and grumpy, she grabbed the nearest tent supplies and brutally slammed the sticks into the ground near Zuko's head and feet. She then gave him an irritated kick to his rear to force him into the center of the make-shift tent and threw the canvas over it, "THERE! HAPPY! Now you have a STINKING cloth over your head to SHADE YOU from the STINKING SUN!" She really felt like soaking him with a blast of water from the nearby stream but thought better of it. The sooner they all got to bed the better, and getting him wet would only provide more problems.

Aang sighed as he snuggled up in his sleeping bag. It looked like things were returning to normal for now…unfortunately. He gave a groan of discontent and peered sleepily out of the flap of his tent. Katara was now working to make her own, and dark circles stood prominently under her eyes. Maybe after they all got some rest, they wouldn't be so cranky.

Zuko rubbed his sore bottom. Why was it a target lately? He almost reacted badly to how forceful Katara was, but he appreciated the tent. It was actually helping him to fall asleep. His look of annoyance slowly became a look of sleepiness. He yawned and fell asleep, barely bothering to adjust his awkward position.

Sokka frowned. "You never did anything for me when I whined like that..." He was about to set up his tent when he realized that Katara had used it for Zuko. "My tent! You gave him my tent! Augh! Zuko, move over. I'm sleeping in MY tent." Sokka forced himself into the tent with Zuko, who didn't complain since he was already falling asleep again. "Stupid prince not bringing his own stupid tent, not even a stupid real sleeping bag, it's a stupid blanket." Sokka shoved Zuko aside, curled up, and fell asleep.

Katara just rolled her eyes and finished setting up her area to sleep in before climbing inside. She threw her covers over herself and lowered her head. Right before it met her pillow, she was fast asleep.

Momo looked back and forth between tents uncertainly, deciding which would be the best one for him to join. He chattered for a minute, and, turning his eyes towards the nearest one, glided over to snuggle in between Zuko and Sokka. His winged arms rested on both their heads and he gave gentle, squeaky snores as he fell asleep.

Before long, Sokka was tangled between Momo and Zuko. His right leg wrapped around Zuko's hip while his left stuck out of the bottom of the tent. One arm somehow made it to a raised position with no support, while the other laid over Momo's chest and Zuko's face. Normally somewhat of a light sleeper, Zuko had fallen in too deep a sleep to notice the snoring, drooling, and draping until he had woken up in the late morning, early afternoon. "I really have to relieve myself.. what's that on my face..? Ew, it's Sokka's hand! And it smells!" Those were Zuko's first thoughts upon waking up. He picked up Sokka's hand and shoved it aside. He tried to get up, stopped by Sokka's leg, which he pushed aside. Sokka stirred, but rather than waking, he smushed Momo and grabbed Zuko with his arms and legs, clinging to him. "Suki... don't go, you'll become a zombie like the rest of them..." As if that weren't enough, he drooled. The drool was coming closer and closer until...

The tent came crashing down as Zuko screamed. "GET OFF ME! GET OFF ME!" There was rustling underneath the tent and Zuko came out first, wiping his face and rushing off into the woods. Sokka sleepily pushed the tent off himself, holding Momo in one arm.

Katara shot up at Zuko's shouting and immediately ran out of the tent, her eyes still tired, and threw her hands outwards towards the direction of Zuko's tent, afraid it was an enemy, and a stream of water shot right towards Sokka and Momo. She rubbed her tired eyes and got into a fighting stance, and her eyes widened in shock when she saw her drenched brother. It was then that Aang scrambled out of his tent that had collapsed on him from his upstart and crawled out on all fours to see what was going on. He blinked tiredly and looked from Katara's strange posture to Sokka and Momo, dripping in water, and murmured tiredly, "Where's Zuko?" before crashing back on his face, snoring quite loudly.

"WHY DO I ALWAYS GET WET! Kataaara!" Sokka and Momo stood there, drenched. Momo ran off chattering loudly, shaking and licking himself to get dry. Sokka took off his shirt and began wringing it out.

Zuko continued to wipe his face until he felt he was a safe distance, relieved himself, and then came back with a sour look on his face. The tent was soaked for some odd reason, and at this he went from sour to confused. Sokka got what he deserved. He was soaking wet. "Ha ha ha ha!" Zuko pointed and laughed at him before sitting down beside the group. Sokka gave Zuko the death glare.

Katara rubbed her head, "Sorry, Sokka." She said tiredly before pulling the water out from the tent and Sokka's clothes. She sent it back towards the stream and sat on the ground, "What happened? I heard you guys freaking out and it sounded like you were under attack." Her eyelids grew heavy and it took quite a bit to keep herself awake, "Did you have a nightmare, Prince Zuko?" Her tone became a bit more sarcastic, "Afraid Momo was going to claw your eyes out?" She was way too tired to talk, but she forced herself to listen. Maybe after they explained what happened she could catch a bit more sleep. She was jealous of Aang and Toph, the younger members were fast asleep, oblivious to what spooked them.

Zuko's face turned from one of mocking to one of disgust as he looked from Katara to Sokka and back to Katara again. "Your brother was clinging to me, and he smells really bad. He needed that bath. And he drooled on me!" The pampered prince pointed accusingly as if tattling on Sokka. "I never invited him to sleep with me!" Sokka watched from Zuko to Katara and went from annoyed to very amused. An evil smile slowly creeped up on his face. "Go ahead and tell on me, momma's boy. Go cry to Katara like she's your mom."

Zuko's eyebrow raised and his mouth gaped. "Momma's boy? What?" He didn't seem to understand how such a term was used to make fun of him. "What do you mean?" Sokka laughed at Zuko's face. "You're such a momma's boy. I'm surprised you and Katara don't get along. HA!" Zuko looked baffled, and then looked at Katara for her reaction.

Katara looked flustered as well and she tried hard to come up with a defense for herself. Her first thought that came to mind was _I'm not acting motherly!_ But it was completely wrong. Memories of her eavesdropping on Toph and Sokka's conversation not too long ago proved that. And from what she saw from Zuko's reaction, he was acting like a momma's boy. She just didn't want to admit that she took on the motherly role.

She took in Zuko's baffled expression, and cleared her throat at the awkward silence that followed, "I'm sure however his mother was, I'm nothing like her." She frowned and mentally kicked herself, stupid tiredness, no witty reply for her today.

It took Zuko a few moments to take in what Katara said. What did she mean by that? He figured it was definitely an insult, but he had no idea how to reply to it. His emotions quickly dropped from a decent high to very low. Everything about his mother flashed before his eyes. Outwardly he seemed pretty shocked for a long moment, trying to figure it all out. And then he frowned deeply. "My mother was a great and kind woman! She always encouraged me and helped me be the best person I could be! She sacrificed everything for me! And by saying your nothing like her, you're only insulting yourself!" He finished his grand display of emotions by clenching his fists and standing up. It seemed slightly he was about to cry, but only just barely.

Sokka backed up a little bit and watched quietly. He'd never heard anything about Zuko's mother before, and he wondered what Katara had been told in Ba Sing Se.

Katara blinked and gave a start at the sudden change of emotions in Zuko. She obviously struck a nerve without meaning to. She winced and, seeing that Zuko was horribly upset, stood up as well and rubbed her arm nervously, "Listen, Zuko…I'm sorry for upsetting you. I didn't mean it as an insult to you, or your mother." She frowned as she realized that she was actually _apologizing_ to Zuko. But she felt bad, she had never seen him so close to crying before. It was strange to see how the teen, who used to be such a powerful enemy, now appeared as such a frail ally.

The prince narrowed his eyes as he looked down at Katara. He was scanning her for dishonesty, but when he only found those big blue eyes staring up at him apologetically, he calmed down immediately. All he felt was sad as he turned away from her, slouching. His eyes closed as he crossed his arms to his bare chest. The burn on his stomach was still visible, and it only added to his frail disposition. He stood still almost as if waiting for the moment to pass, waiting for the emotions quelled up inside of him to suppress again.

Sokka wasn't the least surprised by Katara's reaction to Zuko's outburst since Zuko looked like such a child when he was doing it. Yeah, he was a momma's boy.

Katara saw in his eyes that his anger dimmed down and watched as he turned away. He was suppressing his anger and sadness, something she knew wasn't helpful to a person, "You know, Zuko…its okay to cry sometimes. It helps to let others know what's bothering you…and it helps you to let go of your emotions, instead of keeping them bottled up inside of you. It can be dangerous to keep them hidden…" She rested her arms on her knees and set her chin upon her arms, "But if you want to keep the tough-guy image, then go ahead and hide them."

The banished prince opened his eyes, looking down. His lower lip trembled for a moment but he settled it into a firm pout. His eyes were drifting into some memory. He didn't even seem to hear Katara for a long moment until he looked at her. "I'm okay.." he managed weakly as he left to fetch his shirt from underneath the tent. That was embarrassing. His mother's image burned into his skull, his father's words repeated again and again. He didn't seem to really try to find his shirt, he only pushed the tent around mopingly.

Sokka looked from Zuko to Katara and hid a smile from his face, trying to look serious. "I think you struck a bad note with him. He _looks_ like he's about to cry."

Katara gave him a warning glare. It was bad enough that she had to stand seeing Zuko nearly cry, seeing him actually crying would be too much, "Listen, Zuko. You look like you need some sleep. You can get some rest in my tent if you want, and Sokka can get his set up. You guys need your rest, and I'll just sleep beside Appa." She frowned, unable to think of anything else to say, and went over to the large bison's sides. She didn't know if they were tired, or if they wanted to even sleep, but she knew that they needed as much energy as they can for the rest of the day, and they obviously weren't well rested yet.

Zuko found his shirt and blanket, a miserable look on his face. "No, that's fine.. I'll go sleep with Appa. As long as he doesn't lick me..." He fixed his clothing properly, dusting it and straightening it to perfection while he walked to Appa with his blanket. Appa opened a sleepy eye and looked at him, then closed it back again.

The prince wouldn't take no for an answer as he sat beside Katara in the shade. He used the blanket as a pillow and laid there, his eyes wide open. He wasn't tired anymore, but he just wanted to think. He hoped he wouldn't be bothered anymore. Something about Katara dug out his layers and made him become so vulnerable. He wiped at his eyes and fiddled with his fingernails, taking the grime out of them. How did she do that to him? He flashed back to those big blue eyes and they reminded him of how his mother used to look at him. She reminded him of his mother, so maybe that's why he was so upset that she said that. He looked at Katara and then hurriedly looked away again.

Great, the girl that hated his guts reminded him of his mother. As if he didn't have enough problems.

Sokka climbed into Katara's tent and decided to finish his dream about saving Suki from zombies. It was Zuko's loss he didn't take the tent.

Katara opened her mouth to argue as Zuko also came and leaned back against Appa. However, she knew he wouldn't be swayed from his decision and she avoided eye contact as he sat down beside her. He looked like a nervous reck, picking at his fingernails like that. She caught him glancing at her for a quick second before he turned his head away. His troubled expression never left his face. Confused and curious, she tried to ask him a question, but nothing came out. Talking to him seemed so strange…Clearly he was thinking hard about something, but she had no idea what it was.

So, awkwardly clearing her throat, she murmured, "So…what's on your mind?"

Zuko adjusted his position and fiddled more with his fingernails. "uh... my mom..." Zuko looked away and then back again. Katara was still looking at him, waiting for more. "... You know what happened to her... right? My father ... he.. he said she's alive..." His voice cracked as he spoke those words that he'd been wanting to tell someone so badly. And now he was opening up to Katara of all people. He wasn't sure how she'd take it, since he'd told her she was taken by the fire nation.

Katara took in the news, and her eyes seemed to widen slightly. She then closed them, wondering how it would feel if she was told that her own mother was alive…but then she frowned, thinking about Zuko's thoughts on the matter. She automatically assumed in their previous conversation back at Ba Sing Se that his mother had been killed or captured. She took a deep breath, wondering what to say next, and spoke in a low whisper, "So…You're mother's alive…that's good…" She winced, that was an extremely lame reaction. She had to keep her emotions in check, she felt a small surge of jealousy within her, but spoke up a bit clearer, "I'm glad that she's all right…It sounds like she's a wonderful woman." She gave him a weak smile, that faded quicker then she would have liked. He looked as if this was something he had kept inside for quite a long time. Why would he share this information with her, of all the group? It confused her, yet, she felt kind of honored. The smile came back, a bit stronger then before.

"I don't know if she's alright.. The day of black sun my father revealed to me that she was alive, but he is every bit as manipulative and cruel as my sister. For all I know, he was just trying to distract me so that he could kill me. But I'm sorry for telling you all of this, I know your mother is gone and... I should be happy. But I'm not... I'm just confused... After all these years, I thought she was dead only to learn she's alive.." The prince sat up, burying his face in between his knees.

Katara listened carefully, "No…it's fine." She murmured at his apology. She silently agreed with him when he talked about his father and sister, and she could relate to his confusion. But his words seemed broken up, and unclear. She wasn't sure what point he was getting at. She could sense his crowded emotions, knowing that they clouded his thoughts. His current posture clearly stated that. "Listen, I wish I could help, but this just seems to be one of those things you have to deal with on your own. I'm sure you'll meet her again some day." She allowed a bit of encouragement to show through her voice. She felt tempted to put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but she held back.

Zuko sat up, still slouching, and placed a hand on his scar. "So much has changed. I don't know if she'd even recognize me. It's been many years.. what if she's ashamed of who I am now?" He looked straight ahead, tears forming in his eyes. "What if I don't recognize her.. What if she's been living badly, and I could have saved her? If she was treated badly, it would be all my fault. She was banished because of me.." He wiped his right eye and looked down.

Katara shook her head and sighed, "Don't fret about it, Zuko. What's done is done, we can't change the past. But we can change our future." Her arm lifted, hesitating as it rose off the ground, and before she even comprehended it, her hand was resting upon the Fire Prince's shoulder. She blinked, wondering what caused her to make such a move, and realized that she truly felt sorry for him.

Aang turned slightly in his sleep, mumbling softly to himself as his eyelids cracked open slightly in order to tell what time it was. His brown eyes caught sight of Katara and Zuko, awake and talking to each other, and a stab of jealousy came to him when he saw the Waterbender's hand on Zuko's shoulder. He quickly shook his head and closed his eyes, he was overreacting. She was just giving the fire prince some helpful advice. She had done the same for him before. But still…a small gnawing sensation appeared in his stomach. The Avatar frowned and turned away, closing his eyes once again in order to try and get some sleep.

The prince resisted hugging Katara, reminding himself again and again that she hated him and was not someone he should be coming to for comfort, even though he missed his uncle and mother greatly and felt the void of their lack of presence. She might take it wrongly anyway. She was one of those irrational types.

Though it was really tempting to get any form of comfort possible. And the only person who would hug him if he asked was Aang, but that would be SO WEIRD.

Not as weird as if Katara hugged him though. Or would it? She reminded him of his mother.

"..." These thoughts thoroughly distracted him from what he was about to cry about, and he became more lonely and confused instead of sad and guilty. "You're right. I shouldn't live in the past so much. I need to focus on teaching Aang firebending. I need to focus on the present." He really wanted a hug still, even though he wouldn't openly admit to such a thing. It wasn't the mature thing to do, and it made him seem soft. Maybe he really was soft.

Katara nodded softly and placed her hand back on the grass beside her, "I'm glad you agree. Hopefully we'll all be well-rested soon so you can start on your training. I'm sure Aang appreciates all the help he can get." She rolled her shoulders and felt Appa's thick fur against her arms as she leaned back. It felt strange conversing with Zuko this way, and yet, she felt somewhat lightened by it. She gave a satisfied sigh and rested her head back, feeling Appa's gentle breathing beneath her.

The prince stood up, leaving his blanket behind. He walked over to Appa and cautiously scratched the bison's cheek. The bison seemed to like it, so he continued. "You're so.. smelly. You need a bath..." Zuko sniffed Appa and made a face. "You really should come with me to find a river or something. I need a bath too. Although I took one last night.. It's really hot out today." He was speaking quietly to the bison as if it were some private conversation. He then looked around and noticed Katara was watching him. He stopped as if he were caught being ridiculous. "What?"

Sokka's snoring could be heard from inside Katara's tent. He was out cold. Still no sign of Toph being awake either.

Katara smirked and looked away, "Nothing…nothing at all." She sighed, "You're right, Appa does need a bath. I believe there's a river not too far from here, towards the east…I need to get washed up too, but I'll wait until you're done." She smiled and pat the flying bison's side, blushing slightly, "The last thing I need to see is you in your fancy underwear." She blushed slightly at the comment, but quickly shrugged it off before he could notice.

Zuko seemed to grow embarrassed. His cheeks flushed ever so slightly before he looked at her with a questioning and weirded out face. "Fancy underwear?" Did she blush? "It's okay. You don't have to wait for me, I'll just wear my pants. Unless you uh... wanted... to bathe in privacy. I'll wait, you can go first." He sounded uncomfortably shy about the whole thing. Perhaps it was three years at sea with only men or just the way he was raised, but his discomfort towards offering a woman to bathe around him was obvious.

Katara nervously rubbed the back of her head, "I erm…sort of wanted to take a bath privately. I mean…it's only proper that I do." Her face was becoming even redder and she smacked herself in the face, "I'm going to quick wash up, I'll come back and tell you when I'm done." She turned away quickly to avoid showing her embarrassed expression and headed east where the river was. She could feel the heat rising to her face. That was one awkward conversation. The sooner she got cleaned up the better. 

Zuko watched her leave curiously. He'd obviously flustered her. Perhaps it wasn't right to offer her the bath first? He'd even thought of offering her to heat it himself, but that would come off wrong. He wasn't sure how he should be hospitable in the wilderness. If he were in his palace he would send for towels and order a bath be prepared for her. Not that he was trying to be romantic or anything, he was just appreciating her kindness. Maybe his kindness in return was going overboard? He had no idea. This situation had never happened to him before. He must've been over thinking it, so he sat down again and watched where she had left with a puzzled expression.

Something odd caught Zuko's attention in the woods where Katara had left off for. It seemed like it might've been an unfamiliar human, so he picked himself up and left to investigate. He didn't want to alarm the sleeping crew over nothing.

Katara, still embarrassed from the previous event, undressed to her swimsuit and dived into the river, feeling the coolness of the water against her. She swam out towards the center, where the water was deep enough, and submerged herself in order to soak her hair. She opened her sapphire eyes beneath the water, watching as a few fishes flitted past her face. She let out some air from her mouth and pushed herself back up to the surface, taking in a deep breath of air as she rid her hair of the dirt and grime that collected since she last bathed. Gosh, it felt good to be clean. She didn't understand how Toph could go so long without taking a bath…she made a face and then chuckled. Now that she was out on her own, she found it easier to relax a bit and enjoy the feeling of the water against her skin.

As she began scrubbing her arms with her hands, the crack of a twig snapped her out of her thoughts. She jumped and immediately ducked into the deeper water, feeling self-conscious about her bath. Her hand waved through the water, preparing for an attack. Although, it may just be an impatient Zuko wanting a turn. Well, he would have to wait, she wasn't ready to get out just yet.

Zuko quietly stalked the figure until he could get a better view of it, which took quite some time because the figure was inhumanely fast. He began to hear running water but disregarded it, as Katara's safety was more important than her privacy. Zuko climbed a tree to get a better look, and what he saw surprised him. That was no human, it was a platypus bear, and by the looks of things, it had spotted something it didn't like. Zuko hopped a few trees to get a better look. The river had come closer, so he was really beginning to suspect Katara had stupidly got herself in danger second day in a row.

Katara's eyes widened in shock as the platypus bear came rushing towards the river, right in her direction. She quickly shot her arms forward, causing the water to push her out of the way of the charging animal. She landed on the shore, sputtering and coughing and managed to roll aside as the creature's huge, flat tail struck the ground where she was just a second ago. She forced herself up to her feet, and quickly waved her hand in circular motion in front of her, causing a stream of water to fly out from the river before it slammed into the creature.

Unfortunately, instead of pushing the creature away, it only served to make it even more angry and it opened it's fang-filled bill, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.

Zuko jumped from the tree, unsure of what he was going to do but sure he had to help, and landed right on top of the platypus bear, causing it to take its attention off of Katara and onto its new target. It bucked Zuko off, sending him flying into a tree trunk. With a small grunt Zuko got right back up and ran to place himself between Katara and the threat. He created a non-harmful but threateningly large display of his firebending in front of the creature, which sent it scampering off. It apparently had a healthy fear of fire. The prince watched it scamper, ensuring it wouldn't come back. He turned to Katara, noticing her lack of dress. "Um.. Are you hurt?"

Katara watched in amazement as Zuko frightened off the bear, and, realizing that she was still in her swimsuit, began to blush profusely once again, "Uhh…no..I'm all right. It just gave me a bit of a scare, that's all." She quickly grabbed her towel and wrapped it around so she'd feel a bit more comfortable since Zuko was around, and gazed down, embarrassed, at the ground, "Er…thanks for…helping me." She began to wring out her hair to hide her embarrassment, and a strange thought occurred to her, _Why did he do it? Why did he help me?_

Zuko quickly turned away once he was able to confirm she was fine. "It was nothing. I'm going to go now. He won't be back, and there shouldn't be anymore of them for miles since they have lengthy territory. Enjoy the rest of your bath." He set his course for the campsite, slouching as usual with his hands stiffly at his sides. _Well I'm glad she didn't think I was spying on her or something as I had suspected she might. I'm very glad she can see my noble upbringing. I wouldn't do something so low. Perhaps protecting her from danger has even worked towards my favor._

Katara waited for him to leave before leaping back into the water again, her mind jumbled with confused thoughts. After all she did…her threat to him at the Air temple, refusing to heal him until the last minute, her rude comments, he still helped her. She frowned and finished washing up. As she grabbed the towel once again and began to dry off, she gave a small sigh. She was so confused…all this time she felt that Zuko was some irritating pompous prince that cared only for himself. Well, deep inside it was probably true, but still, she couldn't help feel at least a bit sorry for him. 

When Zuko got back at the camp, Aang stood by Appa, his arms folded over his chest, "Where were ya, Zuko? And where's Katara?" he asked, an accusing glance appearing on his face. In his sleep, he heard their little conversation, and he still felt a bit suspicious. 

"I was nowhere. Katara's bathing." The prince didn't want to worry Aang, especially after how he cried for Katara yesterday. He wouldn't leave her alone if Zuko had told her about the platypus bear attack, even though she was now safe. Zuko appeared to completely disregard Aang's jealousy as he turned away and began rolling up his blanket with his small bag of stuff inside.

Toph slowly came crawling out of her tent, groaning. Her hair was falling out, and she was really dirty. She sat in front of the tent, picking at her peeling feet sleepily, her eyes still closed.

Sokka popped his head out, watching Aang and Zuko's conversation suspiciously. _Where WAS Zuko? While Katara is bathing he conveniently disappeared!_

Aang frowned, unconvinced, and muttered under his breath while he took a seat next to Appa. He then sniffed, and, making a face, looked at the giant bison, "You need a bath…"

After Katara was fully dried, she threw on her clothes and ran her fingers through her curly hair to untangle a few stray knots. She then grabbed her towel and, throwing it over her shoulder, went back in the direction of the camp, feeling satisfied with her cleanliness. She took a bit of time to think about the event with the bear. And then realized something…why was Zuko so quick to come in? She never heard him coming near the river…She frowned and shrugged, well, he probably was just worried about her. He probably wanted to return the favor after she saved his butt from Azula. 

The banished prince stared at the bison with a slight tinge of disgust and muttered to himself. "I agree that he should have a bath. He smells like metal and sweat. It's unpleasant." He gathered up a pair of spare undergarments which would be very useful to change into once he bathed in the other pair. He was keeping to himself, obviously meaning for his comment to also be kept to himself although spoken quietly aloud.

Sokka watched Zuko carefully and aimed his boomerang at him. "What were you doing in the woods while my sister was bathing! Huh?"

Zuko completely ignored Sokka, turning his back to him as he sat. He wasn't about to take this nonsense, and he was a bad liar. If he said anything at all he might as well have told them, wrote them, and mentally projected to them the truth. So it was best to remain quiet. At least, in his eyes.

Aang noticed that Zuko was avoiding Sokka. He became a bit overprotective as well, but kept his mouth shut. Maybe Zuko was just taking a walk…But then why would he be so defensive? The Avatar tapped his chin in thought, his expression solemn. When he saw Katara making her way through the woods, walking in Zuko's near exact steps, his suspicions grew and he blurted, "Katara! What happened!"

Katara stopped in her tracks, blinking at the sight. Zuko's back was turned to Sokka, who's boomerang was pointed threateningly at his back. She noticed a look of complete and utter curiosity on Aang's face, and he had leapt to his feet in his outburst.

She took a moment to figure out what was going on. It struck her, and she inwardly smirked, they thought Zuko was spying on her…She quickly thought of a way to respond and gave a convincing shrug, "I don't know, I was just taking a bath in the river back there after I told Zuko I was going to. I didn't see him anywhere, so I figured he must've stayed at the camp." 

Zuko walked up to Katara's side and nodded. "That's the truth." He nodded again for emphasis. "She took a bath, and nothing happened at all... and.. I wasn't near her." His eyes were avoiding everyone's gaze, and as Sokka stood up, he especially avoided Sokka's glare.

"LIAR! You're such a bad liar! Stay away from my sister!" Sokka was becoming increasingly defensive, and he put himself between Zuko and his sister. Zuko held his towel and undergarments closer to himself, watching Sokka with what only could be described as a completely innocent and sad little puppy face. "I.. I'm not lying!" Toph groaned. "Well at least we know now that he really IS on our side, him being such a terrible liar and all. How are you and Azula even related?"

The prince then became flustered. He didn't know if it would be better to just tell the truth or to let them believe he was a pervert. On the one hand, if they knew Katara was in danger AGAIN, they'd become ridiculously overprotective. On the other hand, if they thought he was a pervert, he'd be shunned for it. Wait, he was already being shunned. It didn't really matter. And Aang wouldn't believe he was a pervert, they were friends. "My words are honorable! I'm going to go take my bath now." His eyes narrowed at Sokka, who blocked his path. "No, I want to hear you confess!" Zuko just pushed him aside and began walking again, irritated.

Katara felt like elbowing Zuko. Didn't he realize that Toph could tell if he's lying? She watched as Sokka's over protectiveness went into hyper drive. Her first reaction was to start arguing with him, but he was too busy trying to interrogate Zuko even more. Sure, she felt a bit bad about not telling the whole truth, but really, after the last few days, the last thing she needed was to have Sokka trailing her wherever she wanted to go. 

"Just leave him alone, guys." She murmured as she pulled back on Sokka's shoulder, "You can ask him questions later. Let him get cleaned up." She went over by Appa's head and began petting the side of his face, trying to avoid the other's questioning faces. This was completely and utterly awkward…

Aang watched Zuko carefully as he walked into the woods in the direction of the river. He made an "I'm watching you" gesture with his fingers behind the Fire Prince's back and hid his hand at his side, "So…while Zuko's getting washed up, how about we figure out what we're going to do now. I can't learn firebending until he comes back." He turned to Sokka, "How much longer until the comet arrives?"

Sokka just ignored Aang, even brushing him off. He watched where Zuko had left with a face most diabolical. After a few moments, he smiled evilly, turning and whispering to Aang. "I'm going after him. There's something suspicious going on, and he's a really bad liar. Besides. I need a bath too anyway. Are you going to just sit there and let him get away with spying on Katara, or are you coming with me to properly interrogate him? We should even bring Appa, he really stinks."

Toph began picking at her toes with a little twig. "Katara, can I talk to you for a second?"

Zuko undressed to his undergarments, watching the river as if it were some oddity. He really preferred hot baths to cold ones, for one. And also, he just didn't like this river. His burn had dramatically decreased, although it was still visible. He threw a rock in the river angrily before stepping in, trembling because of how cold it was. As he slowly accepted it, the water became his friend. He sat in the shallow part, digging his feet under the small pebbles. Stupid water. Stupid situation. Why weren't they in a town staying at a nice inn? One with hot springs?

Aang shook his head, "Of course not...Count me in." He whispered to Sokka, "Let's go see if we can get some information out of him." Aang's jealousy got the best of him even as he talked about his Firebending teacher that way. He wanted to make sure Katara would be comfortable with Zuko around. If he was spying…well, that just wouldn't do, would it? He continued to tell himself that it was in the Waterbender's best interest as he took Appa's reins and led him away.

Katara watched them with a suspicious look, but Toph's voice caught her attention. She looked over at the young Earthbender and then tried to turn back to the others, but they already had gone. Giving a small groan, she walked over to Toph and took a seat, "Yeah, we can talk."

"What are you hiding? What's going on between you and Zuko?" Toph stared ahead, not bothering to face Katara even though it was usually more effective if she did. The seeing liked that better. "I could tell he's lying, but you were lying too. Through your teeth."

Sokka walked with Aang until they reached Zuko's location. He quickly stripped down to his underwear and waded in beside the surprised prince. "What are you doing here! Leave me alone while I bathe!" Sokka pointed accusingly at Zuko's face, almost hitting him with his finger. "Why should I care about your privacy! You didn't care about Katara's privacy!" Zuko narrowed his eyes at the finger and brushed it away. "That's ridiculous! I'm innocent!" He turned around to see Aang and Appa as well. "You're here too?" He gave Aang a pleading glance before glaring at him. "Come to accuse me as well?" There was a trace of disappointment in his voice.

Katara bit her lip nervously. Toph always made her uncomfortable…it was impossible to keep secrets around her unless they remained unspoken. She gave a sigh and, knowing it was inevitable, began to tell what happened.

"You see…it's kind of complicated. I told Zuko this morning that I would take a bath first, and when I left, he must've seen something following me. Half way through washing up, I was attacked by a platypus bear and…Zuko kind of saved me." She sighed and murmured, "I didn't want to tell you guys the truth because I didn't want Aang and Sokka…mostly Sokka…getting too overprotective. I haven't been making the best decisions recently as you can tell…I feel like if I make one more slip up, my brother'll never leave me alone." She sighed, "He wasn't spying…"

Aang frowned and gave a quick shrug, "No…I'm just going to wash Appa." He did come to see how the accusations turned out. Before he was discovered, he quickly leapt up onto Appa and quickly took his saddle off. He then began to form fountains of water around the bison, making sure Appa's back was completely soaked before he settled in the deeper water.

The blind earthbender turned her face in Katara's direction. "So for your selfish reasons, you're asking Zuko to be blamed for spying on you while you bathed? And he's going along with it? That's just sad. So you got attacked. Someone was there to save you, weren't they? It could have been a lot worse, but it wasn't. Sokka's just got to learn to control himself because either way he's going to get more protective of you. In fact, I'd take the platypus bear over you experiencing a peeker any day."

Sokka grabbed Zuko's shoulders. "Look at me in the eye and tell me you're innocent. And tell me why you were in the woods!" Zuko shoved Sokka off of him. "Don't touch me! GET OUT OF HERE!" The prince had gotten much more demanding, pointing at the trail back to camp. "Go back to camp!" "NO! I won't until you tell me what happened!" "GAH! All I wanted was to bathe in peace! Leave me alone!" "NO! Tell me!" "FINE! I thought I saw someone in the woods so I was checking to make sure Katara was alright!" Sokka stared at Zuko in disbelief. And then the skeptic face came on. "Wait, if you were only looking out for Katara, then why didn't you say anything?" Zuko crossed his arms and seemed pretty angry. "I didn't want you two idiots worrying so much over her." Sokka's face cooled off quite a bit, although he remained skeptical. "So it was nothing?" Again the bad liar gave himself away, unable to make himself sound believable. "It was nothing. Just an animal." Sokka glared. "You're lying! You perhaps began in the woods innocently enough but then stopped to admire my sister while she was bathing! What else would explain why you were gone so long!" "I don't have to take this." Zuko grunted as he left the river and put a towel on. He picked up his clothing while muttering angrily.

Katara winced. Selfish? She guessed she kind of was…and Zuko had gone along with it…Which made everything seem even stranger. Sokka and Aang were probably chewing the Fire Prince out by now because she was too stubborn to tell them the truth.

"Sokka…control?" she sighed, "I highly doubt that's going to happen anytime soon. Although…once he knows the truth, maybe he'll take it easier on Zuko for a bit." Katara frowned and then smirked at Toph's comment, "Thanks...I think…" She murmured. She definitely felt the same about the bear.

Aang's ear seemed to grow twice its size as he leaned towards the two to hear their conversation. He took no part in it, he didn't want to hurt either of their feelings, and he definitely would rather remain neutral. As Zuko stomped off, he sighed and murmured, "Good one, Sokka. You ticked him off. Now we won't get any answers!"

Zuko turned around and pointed at Aang. "I HEARD that! So you don't trust me either! I thought we were friends now! I was stupid to believe that wasn't I!" Swiftly he huffed off dripping wet in his towel. He didn't feel like teaching the Avatar anymore. All of these thoughts processed through his head so quickly he didn't even know what to say, and all of these emotions of frustration and hurt were getting the better of him. It really hurt that Aang didn't believe him, of all the people in the group. He was so steaming mad that most of his body had heat dried by the time he got to camp, and his hair wasn't dripping anymore.

Without even so much as acknowledging any other group members except to say "Don't disturb me" he snuck into Sokka's tent and got dressed.

Aang jumped at Zuko's outburst and looked down at the river guiltily. He finished rinsing Appa and looked sadly at the bison's wet fur. His jealousy got the best of him, and now the person that was supposed to be teaching him Firebending was mad. What if the Prince refused to teach him? Then he had no way of learning it before the comet arrived. He groaned in frustration and rested his tattooed forehead against Appa's fur. This day was just getting better and better…

Katara gave a start as Zuko stomped into the camp, murmuring before he went into Sokka's tent. She frowned, feeling worse about what happened. She gritted her teeth, she'd have to tell the others the truth…Zuko didn't look like he was in any mood to continue Aang's lessons…Katara groaned, why did everything have to get so complicated?

Zuko came out fully dressed and dried. His hair was all sorts of out of control as if he never bothered to comb it. He folded his towel and his things and began packing up. He wasn't even sure what he was doing really. Maybe if he left for a little while he could-- well he didn't understand what he was so mad about anymore. Well it didn't matter. Placing his things on his back he faced Katara. "I'm leaving." He began walking. Toph stomped her hand on the ground, causing a lump of earth to trip him. "You said you'd teach Aang firebending! You can't just leave!" Zuko tripped but quickly regained his balance and continued walking. "I just need some time to think."

Katara looked up, "You're WHAT!" She got to her feet and motioned towards his things, "If you were only going to think, you would leave your stuff!" She stood up and walked into his path, "Listen, I'm going to tell them the truth. You don't have to leave. I'm sorry I got you into this mess!" She clenched her fists and gave him a glare, "Seriously, stop being so overemotional and stay so we can talk to the others. This isn't something you need to get all uptight about!"

Aang looked down at Sokka, "You're being awfully quiet…should we go back to the others and see what's going on?"

Sokka glared at the water, pondering. "We've got to get to the bottom of this. I know you need to learn firebending, so I don't want to scare off your teacher.. but if he's peeking at Katara... I don't know. I'm not sure what to do.." The watertribe boy waded out of the water, picking up his clothes. "I guess we should make sure Zuko doesn't try anything stupid. He was pretty mad. Let's go."

"Uptight! I'm not being uptight! I'm not being overemotional either!" Zuko narrowed his eyes down at Katara, slouching a little more so that they were almost at eye level. He didn't try to push Katara away, but he didn't put his stuff down either. He continued to watch the obstacle that was in his way. No one's ever forced him to stay before. Both his uncle and his father never tried to work things out, they just let him leave. But this stubborn bright eyed girl was every bit as tenacious as the fireprince was. She might as well have been a big boulder. Or maybe a rapid and dangerous river that dared him to cross. "Zuko, we're all just adjusting to each other. Take a moment and allow us all to work this out. I'll vouch for you if Katara chickens out. Just put your stuff down."

Sokka walked over to the campsite just in time to see the fireprince packed up as if he were going somewhere and Katara standing straight in his way. He wondered what all that was about.

Katara remained rooted to the spot, her eyes narrowed as well as he stood eye-level with her. She kept her eyes on him, even as Sokka, Aang, and Appa came into the camp. She heard them, and started to talk, not letting Zuko out of her sight, "Hey, guys. We need to clear a few things up with you." She then gave the Fire Prince a challenging look and murmured, "Well, are you going to set your things down and help me tell them the truth?" She had a threatening tone to her voice, the tone that said 'Do it now or you'll regret it.'

Aang stopped and allowed Appa to crawl ahead to lie down in the sun. He then took a seat across from the feuding benders, hoping Zuko would stay and give an explanation. 

The fireprince backed off, almost as if he were frightened of Katara. He set his things down and walked over to Aang and Sokka with an intense and hurt facial expression, but he offered no words of explanation.

Toph sat around, peeling her feet and watching the general area where Aang, Sokka, and Zuko were. "Katara, why don't YOU tell them."

Sokka's eyes softened as he eyed Zuko. Obviously he was innocent at this point, otherwise Katara wouldn't be defending him so much. Even Toph was on his side. Unless they were dating.. "You guys didn't start going out did you!"

"No! I have a girlfriend!" Zuko's answer was so immediate it practically cut Sokka off before he could even finish. "You do? Who would that be?" 

"You've got to be kidding me..." The prince rolled his eyes.

Katara watched as Zuko sat down and she went into the little circle as well. She was about to start explaining when Sokka came up with the most stupid question in the world.  
"WHAT! Me date him! Are you INSANE!" She yelled, leaping to her feet. This outburst shocked Momo who was finishing cleaning himself off nearby, and the startled lemur screeched in fear before leaping onto Appa's back.

Aang coughed, hoping to satisfy Sokka's curiosity so he could hear Zuko and Katara's story, "It's Mai…that girl that uses throwing weapons in her fighting."

Sokka eyed Zuko suspiciously for a moment before smirking evilly. "Well, she's sure a catch. Did you kiss her yet?" Zuko's face paled. "Um... " The watertribe boy laughed. "You did! Good for you! I can't believe YOU got a girlfriend. You probably really needed one too." The fireprince glared daggers at Sokka for his comment, but remained silent. "Wow, Mai, the depressed girl. I can only imagine. So you weren't peeking on Katara. What was really going on then?"

Zuko sighed, knowing Katara was trying to get him to tell the whole story. "I thought I saw someone in the woods coming after Katara, but I wasn't entirely sure. This island is uninhabited, so how could that be possible? I went to check, and it was actually a platypus bear. It attacked her, so I jumped in and scared it off with some firebending. Luckily it was afraid of fire. She thanked me and I left. I didn't want to tell you two because... well I didn't think she'd want me to."

Katara sat back down and nodded in agreement, "That's exactly what happened," She looked over at Toph, "And you can tell that it's no lie." Her gaze then went to Sokka and she sighed, "I just didn't want you to become worried and too overprotective. I didn't mean for you guys to get suspicious of Zuko."

Aang listened to Zuko's story, and felt bad for thinking such terrible thoughts about him. His anger completely ebbed, replaced by guilt, and he frowned before bowing Fire-Nation style to Zuko, "I'm sorry I accused you for spying on Katara. You have my word as the Avatar that I will not mistrust you in petty events like this again. I really do wish to learn Firebending from you, and I don't want to lose our friendship."

The young prince seemed touched at Aang's display of humility and the value he placed in Zuko as a friend and ally. He nodded, replying in a soft cracking voice. " 'Sokay... "

Sokka sighed, letting go of the emotions he'd been holding onto. "Katara, I don't want you to think you can't tell us if you were or are in danger. I'll try to be less over protective of you. Dad told me to look after you, and you're my sister. It's really hard, especially now that we've lost dad too..." He slumped his shoulders, his eyebrows furrowing as he looked down at his lap.

Aang looked back up at Zuko and smiled, "Shall we continue our lessons, Master Zuko? I know there's a lot I need to learn." He looked over at the others, and frowned as he saw Sokka in a slouching position.

Katara sighed sadly at Sokka's words and fought the tears that threatened to come. It was terrible thinking that Sokka and her were the only ones in their family fighting for the world. She wrapped an arm around his shoulder and gave him a gentle squeeze to show that she was there for him. It was hard losing both parents…She vowed that she would do her best to save her dad, no matter what. She couldn't bear the thought of him stuck in a Fire Nation prison…It felt like she lost him once again…only this time there was no way they could get to him until they defeated the Fire Lord. 

She gave a shaky sigh and gave a reassuring pat on his back before standing up, noticing that Aang was looking at them with a worried look. "Go ahead and train, Aang. Don't worry about us." She smiled warmly and waved him on, "We'll see you guys later. I'll start lunch and call you when it's done."

The fireprince got up with Aang. "Yes, let's continue so you can master firebending and get this war over with already..." He walked off towards the river, an obviously good spot to practice firebending.

Sokka tried to bring his spirits back up, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. He realized why he was being even more overprotective of Katara than he'd been previous, and it required he admit that his father was left behind for the enemy. It was finally truly sinking in for him. His sight blurred and he wiped his eyes, watching the ground as if it had some sort of comfort to give him.

Aang smiled and followed Zuko, a large smile written on his face. He was excited for his lessons, and he was glad that the tension between him and the Firebender was eased. As they arrived at the river, he took in a deep breath of air, to calm himself and to prepare himself for the lesson. He was ready.

Katara looked at Sokka sadly, knowing exactly how he felt, and started to get to work on supper. Remembering the fishes from the river earlier, she made a mental note to catch some to add to Sokka and Zuko's part of the meal. Sokka could use the pick-me-up, and she wanted to show a little thanks to Zuko for scaring away the platypus bear. She began starting a fire and watched as the sparks burst into flame. She threw on a pan and reached for their supplies, grabbing a few vegetables before tossing them into the pan. She quickly grabbed some sauce Sokka bought from town and threw some on to flavor the fried vegetables. Then, sighing to herself, she began to cook the food. Things were beginning to return to normal…for now. How long it was going to last was way beyond her understanding, but for now, she was going to enjoy it while she can.


	4. Episode 4: Arguments and Lessons

**Heh, sorry for the lack of comment on the last one. Forgot to write something there, but s'alright. Just adding another chapter. I need something to make Study Hall pass by quickly XD. Once again, another chapter of our RPG (We had fun with this one XD):**

**Episode 4: **Arguments and Lessons

Sokka continued to sit there like a bump on a log. Toph forced her way over to him and gave him a reassuring pat on the back. She could feel his sadness. She wasn't sure what she could say to help him feel better. What did she know about losing parents? Hers were still alive and well, albeit worried about her.

Zuko stood beside the river bank, watching Aang. "Show me some firebending. I want to see you try." His arms fell limply across his sides, and his usual slouch was replaced by him actually standing up straight.

Aang took in a deep breath and threw his fist out, producing little more then a spark that fizzled and died out. He groaned and tried again, only to have the same effect once again. "Heh heh…well…I should be able to do it…I just…need practice." He said as he rubbed the back of his head nervously, "Just…lemme try again." He concentrated harder and threw his palm out, this time sending out a coin-sized flame. He groaned and looked at his hand, as if accusing it for his inability to bend, "Why won't it work!"

Katara stopped for a second in her cooking and looked over at Sokka and Toph. She hadn't seen her brother so sad since her mother died…Her heart sank and she quickly and haphazardly put the pan back down and went to her brother. She knelt down in front of him and pressed her hand against his shoulder to get him to look at her, "Sokka…what's wrong?" The concern in her voice went unhidden, "You were just fine a few minutes ago…"

Katara's brother didn't look at her as he shook his head, hoping to find words that didn't choke him. "... I wish we could have taken dad and everyone else with us. I can't believe we left them behind. I don't want to lose you too Katara. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

Zuko shook his head. "It's all in the breath. You're trying to use your muscles. Pay attention to my breathing and stance." He backed up from Aang several feet. He then got into a stance, breathed in, and shot out a fire blast with a punch as he breathed out. "See? It's all in the breath. Try again." He'd considerably calmed down. As quickly as he became angry about something he'd again become tranquil, as long as he didn't choose to remain stubborn about it. Apparently he didn't wish to remain angry about the misunderstanding.

Katara felt a hot tear running down her cheek and she quickly brushed it away, "It was the only way…Appa couldn't carry us all…I really wish we could've done something more, but we can't. I know it's not fair, but we have no choice. We have to keep moving on." She wrapped her arms around him, feeling more tears slide down her face, and whispered, "Don't worry, big brother. It would take a whole army to separate us."

Aang watched carefully and got into a similar stance. He breathed in, and, letting out the breath as he punched his hand out, he produced a strong flame that streamed through the air for a few seconds before it died out.

"I did it! I created fire!" He exclaimed, as he leapt into the air in joy.

Zuko nodded with a small smile but quickly frowned. "Well don't be so excited about it. You need to control your emotions while you're firebending otherwise you might lose control. Rage is only one of the emotions that feeds firebending. Excitement such as the kind you're displaying increases the flame too. Do it again, and this time I want to see more control."

Sokka hugged his sister tightly, trying his best not to cry but failing. "It'd take death to separate us Katara. I won't let you be taken away. Everyone here needs you.. especially me. Who else is going to wash my underwear?" He sniffled, smiling at his light hearted joke. "Or sew my clothes? Or make us delicious food?"

Aang's hand fell down limply at his side and his head drooped, "Okay…no more excitement…sorry Zuko." He took a deep breath and threw a punch through the air once again, creating another flame. He kept his emotions in check, doing his best to refrain from shouting for joy.

Katara rested her chin on Sokka's shoulder and smiled at his jokes. She admired that about him. Even when he's sad, he could find a way to brighten up the situation. She gave him a gentle pat on the back and broke from their hug, wiping her eyes once again, "Well, let's hope we never have to go through with that. I'll do my best to stay out of trouble, but really, it seems trouble likes to find me."

"Me too. It's like I'm a trouble magnet. But lately it rubbed off onto you. That's so weird." Sokka wiped his eyes after his sister broke the hug. "I guess I had some bad luck yesterday too, but not as bad as yours. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but without Zuko we'd be in much worse straits than we are now. Without him... you might actually have been lost to me. At least he's useful now, he's got a lot of making up to do. I kind of feel guilty for suspecting him of anything." 

The watertribe boy tapped his chin in thought, his eyes narrowing. "I can imagine him and that Mai girl." He mock imitated them. "I'm so bored. Make your servants get me some hot flakes." "... Okay." "I'm still bored." "...okay." "Oh man I'm bored." "I'm not here to entertain you Mai!" He snorted with laughter. "Am I right, or am I right?"

Zuko nodded. "That's much more acceptable. Emotions are important to understand and keep in order when you're a firebender because unlike the other elements, we create our element from within. That fire is YOUR energy manifested."

Katara looked down at the ground at the mention of Zuko, "Yeah…I guess you're right…" As Sokka gave his little impressions of Zuko and Mai, she couldn't help but chuckle. It felt nice to laugh. After all they've been through, the humor really helped to shed some worries. "And you're definitely right about that. They must have had one boring relationship." She smiled and looked back at the food, gasping as she saw that it was sizzling more then it should, "Aw man…" she murmured in irritation before she stirred the food. She would have to get the fish in a little bit…but she didn't want to interrupt Zuko and Aang's lessons. Shrugging, she set the pan back down and went to Sokka's side once again, frowning slightly, "Hey Sokka…we haven't heard from GranGran in a while…I'm getting kind of worried about our village." She sighed softly and looked over at the fire, "Do you think they'll be okay? I know Pakku is going down to meet them, but you'd think we would hear by now if they made it there…"

Aang nodded and looked at his fist, where the fire had just came from, "So…how can I keep better control of my emotions so I don't lose control?"

"That's easy enough. I meditate every day. I take some candles, light them, and sit down in front of them. As I breathe, they move with me. It's a pretty calming experience. You're a monk right? Don't you meditate?" Zuko took a breath and sat down at the riverbank, watching the water flow.

"Katara, it took us a long time to get from the South Pole to the North Pole. Besides, sometimes no news is good news. And Master Pakku can fend for himself, he's a master. But I would like to visit home sometime. We'd have to tell them that our men were captured though.." Sokka debated quietly about the whole idea. He wondered if Aang could even learn firebending in the South Pole. "I know what you're thinking, and let me tell you right now. There's NO WAY I'm going to some frozen iceland. I'd need to wear shoes with bottoms, and I wouldn't be able to see AT ALL. No way." Toph shook her head fervently. She'd made up her mind before anyone even seriously thought of the idea.

Aang nodded, "Yeah, we meditate all of the time. That sounds like something interesting…" He tapped his chin in thought and smiled, "I'll have to try it sometime. Anything that'll help me become better at Fire Bending." He opened his hand and watched as a small flame appeared. He snuffed it out quickly and smiled. He wished he could thank Jeong Jeong. He wouldn't have gotten this far without his help. Zuko was a great teacher, but without the basics, he felt like he wouldn't have made so much progress.

Katara nodded softly, "Right…What am I getting all worried about?" she gave a shrug and looked at Toph. Smiling, she said, "Don't worry. I know our place is with Aang, and we can't travel all the way back. The closer we are to our enemies, the easier it will be for us to plan the real attack…" She looked over at the horizon and sighed, "I'm nervous, but I have my utmost faith in Aang. We can get through this war, and we can do it by working together."

"Good, because the last thing I need to add to my burned feet is frostbite. And besides... Good old earth. I love it." Toph laid down on the ground, patting the earth with her hands. "But how are we going to invade this time? We don't really have anyone anymore. We'll have to set them free beforehand maybe?" Sokka listened carefully to Toph, stroking his chin with his brows furrowed. He looked like a monkey with those big ears added in. "Well.. I'm not sure how we'd do that. The Fire Lord must be expecting us. It'd be walking right into a trap, even with Zuko as added help. We'd need another force to set free the first force... If that makes sense..."

Zuko nodded quietly, listening to Aang. He wasn't sure exactly what he was supposed to teach him, and he was still tired from the long night before. His burn, although not nearly as much of an issue, still hurt. And he was really hungry. "I hope we can eat something soon, I'm hungry."

Katara smiled at Toph and rested her chin on her fist in thought, "That's true…but where could we find such a force? It's not like we can go into the neighboring village and tell the people that we need help. We would need trained warriors. Most of them were the ones captured in the invasion. And we can't go back to Ba Sing Se…" She sighed, "This is going to be more complicated then I thought."

Aang nodded, "I'm sure the food's nearly done." He smiled and motioned towards the direction of the camp, "Let's get going."

"That's the best idea I've heard all day. I wonder what's cooking..." The prince hated the feeling of hunger and he especially didn't miss it after nearly starving to death in the Earth Kingdom. After that experience, he'd learned to truly appreciate food's value. Zuko stood up and began walking side by side with Aang to camp. He wondered if Aang thought it was weird they were allies now, because sometimes he still did.

"We can ask our sister tribe for help. I mean, the North Pole is really far away and yes-- icy -- (sorry Toph) but we need a formidable force to help us regain the rest of our force. I'll bet they're expecting just us, and boy wouldn't it surprise them if we came after them with the whole north pole at our side." Sokka smiled widely.

Zuko interrupted. "That's not a smart idea." Sokka pouted and glared at Zuko. "Why not?" The prince shook his head. "Even though the firenation forces are spread out, most of the firenation forces are still at the capital. The worst places to attack with force at the moment are Ba Sing Se and the capital of the Fire Nation." Sokka's eyebrow twitched. "Then what would you do SMART GUY?"

"Simple. I'd infiltrate."

Aang and Katara both looked at Zuko, "You'll WHAT!" Katara immediately went into "Mistrust" mode and narrowed her eyes, "How in the world do we know that you won't double cross us and warn everyone that we'd be coming? That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard!"

Aang blinked at Katara's outburst. She was getting along with Zuko just fine a few minutes ago…weird…

"It's not that we don't trust you." He shot a warning glance at the Waterbender. Katara murmured, "Speak for yourself…" Aang ignored it and continued, "What I'm worried about is how you expect to get in there now that everyone knows you're on our side. Your idea doesn't sound like it would work."

Zuko gave Katara a fiery look. "I don't need you all to come along! I could accomplish this on my own." He gave Aang the same look, probably just irritated in general. "I know the area and I'm excellent at stealth missions. I got you out of Zhao's clutches, didn't I? I also set that huge bison free without anyone finding it, or me, out. In both of those scenarios I didn't even know the landscape, but you're talking about my home. I know the secret passages and everything... being the prince and all.." He shot Katara a spiteful glance, as if daring her to say something. "It'd be much easier to sneak in at night, take down thirty guards, and sneak out with the prisoners than it would be to plan a huge invasion only to turn back. We should save the full invasion for when we're defeating the FireLord. That way we wouldn't announce how many people are going to be fighting during the full invasion. We don't want to alert my father into strengthening his forces at home base."

Katara glared back. As much as she hated to admit to herself, Zuko was right. But she felt extremely uneasy at the idea. He was going back into Firenation territory alone. What if he betrayed them in order to get his girlfriend and his old life back? What if he was captured on the way and tortured to give out their whereabouts? There were too many risks, yet it seemed like it was the only way that would work. 

"There's only one way I'll agree to this." She murmured, "You'll have to take me along with you!" It was a demand, not a question, "The prisoners are going to be well-guarded, and I don't think you'll make it very far on your own. No way am I taking any chances on this mission!" She was determined, and she straightened up to make her appear taller then usual.

"And I was so looking forward to doing this alone." The prince rolled his eyes, obviously having never even intended to do it alone in the first place. "We need the whole group. Toph can metal bend them out of the bars if we can't get a key, Aang has proven himself fairly capable of being stealthy, and I'm sure Sokka knows how to be stealthy. He's a hunter. Katara, you're important because you can not only pin guards with ice, you can also heal any of the wounded. We just need a thorough plan to get in quickly and then get out quickly." He looked over each of the group, hoping for their encouragement.

Sokka smiled at the compliment and made a slight muscle. "Yeah, you know the layout and I'm the plan guy. Together I bet we'll make a really good plan." He seemed excited about it. Zuko nodded happily. "Yes, that would be great."

Toph seemed to like the idea too. "But we're doing this after my feet feel better right?" Zuko frowned and nodded as if she could see it or something.

Katara stiffened and felt utterly ridiculous. Color rushed to her face and she gave an irritated pout before turning her head away. That really didn't go the way she wanted it to. She went from anger to undignified embarrassment within a few seconds. How fair was that? "Well, you guys plan, I'm going to go catch some fish…" Mumbling, she stomped off towards the river, her eyes narrowed in a glare aimed towards the ground.

Aang shook his head, amused, and rubbed the back of his head, "Well, at least we've got an idea. Good luck with the plan, Sokka. If you need any help, I'm always here to give guidance." He grinned, "That's what the Avatar's here for!"

Sokka smiled at his bald friend. "Why thank you Aang. Zuko, make me a map of the prison." Zuko collected his thoughts. "... I'd need parchment to do that.." Sokka's brain suddenly stopped working. "You're right. And it's our lucky day we're out of paper. Oooh MAN!" Zuko sighed with mild frustration. "We need to move on tomorrow morning anyway. We'll just find the nearest town tomorrow and purchase what we need." Sokka smiled. "You're buying right? Being a prince and all.." The prince scowled. "You DID go through my things! I thought some money was missing!" Sokka raised his hands in the air. "Hey man, the supplies I bought last night cooked us dinner and are still some of our food right now. And you were out cold so I couldn't ask you." Zuko's face cooled off immediately. "Oh right."

Katara was still frustrated when she arrived at the river. She watched carefully as a large sized fish swam by and, with a violent wave of her hand, she caused a bubble of water to surround the fish before it threw it towards the land. Before it could strike the ground, she flung her fingers open and caused it to hover in the air. Within minutes, she arrived back at the camp and, out of spite, threw the bubble and fish onto Zuko's lap, sending water flying all over him, "Since you're so smart, why don't you prepare the fish. I made most of the meal." She folded her arms across her chest and sat down on the ground, refusing to get up to help.

Zuko cried out as he suddenly was soaked and smacked in the face by a giant fish who managed to flop out of his hands. "You're so ridiculous! I don't know how to cook!" He watched the fish flop around while he dried himself with his firebending. Sokka grabbed his sword and pinned the fish to the ground, killing it. "Dinner! Thanks sis!" He tried to pull the dirt off of it, but it required washing. "Eeew it's all dirty now. Katara, can you clean it?"

Katara smirked, "Now is a perfect time to learn, Princey." However, Sokka ruined the moment by asking for her help, and she couldn't help but groan and smack her forehead, "Augh…Fine…" She drew water from the stream nearby and, making a circular motion with her hand, caused the miniature wave to wash the fish, making sure to not get Sokka wet while she did it.

Aang made a face and groaned, "Fish? But I'm a Vegetarian! You know…a person that doesn't eat meat!" He frowned and murmured, "This is just as bad as being in the Fire Nation…"

Zuko stared at the fish, unsure of what to do. "What do I do, just... put it on the pan?" Sokka hid the fish from Zuko protectively. "No way are you cooking MY fish. I'll do it. You didn't even mention gutting it." Zuko grunted and turned his back to Katara. "Fine, go and cook your fish. I'm not even hungry." He continued grumbling and muttering under his breath. Sokka pulled out the cooking board and gut the fish with his knife. "Don't worry Aang, I'm cooking it separate from the... whatever it was that Katara was cooking. It looks a little burnt."

Katara rolled her eyes and muttered, "Boys…" Before watching Sokka clean the fish. She frowned as she saw that the food was indeed burnt. She murmured under her breath, "Stupid Zuko…can't even clean a fish…distracted me from cooking…" She went over and took the pan off and set it down upon a rock to let the burnt food cool. "There Sokka…go ahead and cook the fish." She muttered before sitting down next to Aang.

The Avatar sighed in relief and grimaced as he watched Sokka gut the fish. He quickly turned his glance and saw Katara sitting next to him. He blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his head, "Don't worry, Katara. I don't mind burnt food. It adds quite a bit of flavor actually." He was trying to cheer her up, and it seemed to work a bit. She looked up at him and smiled, "Thanks Aang. I'm sorry it's burnt, guess I was a bit distracted." She threw an angry glare in Zuko's direction.

"Burnt food is DISGUSTING and I refuse to eat it." Zuko stuck up his nose and looked away from Katara. "It ruined my appetite. I'll bet it would have been better off if you had actually paid attention to it." He was picking a fight, and this he knew. But he was still angry over her picking a fight with him.

Sokka tried not to laugh as he listened to the bickering. They were pretty entertaining. He swore they were turning arguing into a sport. The fish began frying and he watched it carefully, listening for more fighting.

Katara stood to her feet and took a step forward towards Zuko, "I would've paid more attention to it if you weren't being so distracting! I can hear your stomach from a mile away! If I have to force feed you the meal I will! I'm not going to have you passing out on us when Aang needs to learn Firebending! Whether you like the food or not, YOU'RE GOING TO EAT IT!" 

Aang's eyes widened and he jumped back as Katara leapt to her feet. It was times like this that it was better to leave her alone and give her space. Why couldn't the two just get along? They were just fine not too long ago, he couldn't believe that Katara was defending him only about an hour ago.

Zuko stood to his feet and took a step towards Katara. He stood there, tall, elegant, and proud. "I refuse to eat that garbage! You'll probably POISON me! And I told you I'm not hungry!" With the best timing in the world, his stomach growled. ".. For your food anyway! You make no SENSE! First you want me to go starve, and then you tell me you'll force feed me! You're crazy! You're hormonal and CRAZY!"

Sokka cringed at the hormonal part. Ooooh Zuko was going to get it. He rubbed his hands together with anticipation.

Katara bristled and took another threatening step towards him, waving her hand to stream water from her satchel. It hovered next to her in the air, looming threateningly over her shoulder. "HORMONAL! What is THAT supposed to mean Burn Boy!" Her hair, now completely dried, fell in messy strands around her face, giving her a more wild appearance as she glared at the Fire Prince. 

"Oh boy…Sokka, what should we do?" Aang asked, biting his nails nervously as he saw the two going at it. Any second now and it looked like they were going to come to blows. "Toph! Shouldn't we stop them!"

Zuko growled with an equal sense of wildness to him, his golden eyes flashing. He narrowed them, and if looks alone could kill. He touched the burn on his face, obviously feeling indignant. Struggling to form words, he paused for a moment. The start of several sentences without even finishing the first word became a jumbled pile of utterances. "I refuse to eat your food, and that's final! You can't make me eat that disgusting worthless sorry excuse for a meal!" It was almost as if he were throwing a temper tantrum with bigger words. A mother trying to get her son to eat... an abusive mother... and a jerk of a son.

Sokka turned over the fish, inwardly smiling to himself. That was quite a comeback on Katara's part. She had Zuko stunned.

Katara saw that she got to him, and inwardly congratulated herself. However, she still retained her stern composure on the outside and she threw her arm out to the side for emphasis, "I'm NOT going to let you stand there and IGNORE THE FOOD that I tried SO HARD to make! I even caught the fish for YOU AND SOKKA! The LEAST you can do is SHOW ME SOME RESPECT!" Each time she rose her voice, the water above her swayed violently to one side like an enraged snake. Her patience was ebbing. If Zuko wanted to throw his little tantrums, he could do it as long as he would like. She wasn't going to cave in.

Katara raising her voice only caused Zuko to become louder. The air around him heated up as he became heated up. Especially his breath, it caused waves in the air it was so hot. "YOU MADE IT SEEM AS THOUGH YOU DIDN'T EVEN WANT ME TO EAT! AND THROWING A FISH ON TOP OF ME-- What was THAT supposed to accomplish! You're so RIDICULOUS and EMOTIONAL! I CAN'T EVEN KEEP UP!" He evaporated Katara's water with a smirk. "And I'll show YOU respect when you can show ME SOME RESPECT BACK! You STARTED this fight!"

Toph shook her head at Aang. She'd only intervene if it got really ridiculous, but for now they were partially working things out in their own little way. She leaned over and whispered to Aang, "They're communicating in their own special way. Katara's telling Zuko her feelings were hurt and she felt useless when his plan was right, and Zuko's telling her he thinks how she reacted to show her feelings was stupid, and she's defending herself.. and he's refusing to eat like a little spoiled child just to get to her."

Sokka plugged his ears, cringing as their voices began echoing in his head.

Katara felt the waves of heat against her, but she stood her ground, refusing to back down. She took a few more steps closer, ignoring the dry, hot air as she fought to stand up for herself, "WELL YOU DIDN'T HELP ANY when I TRIED TO OFFER MY ASSISTANCE in your little 'MASTER PLAN'!" She threw her finger towards his face, pointing accusingly, "AT LEAST I TRIED to show you I CARED SLIGHTLY by making you a STINKING MEAL! If I would've felt ANY DIFFERENTLY, I would've MADE you MAKE IT for EVERYONE!" A mix between a growl and a snarl escaped from her lips as she continued, "THE LEAST you can do is EAT a LITTLE to get your ENERGY UP! If we EVER get ATTACKED again and you're TOO HUNGRY to fight, then I'M TAKING it out on YOUR HIDE!"

Aang blinked, "That sure is a weird way of showing all of that…I'll never understand teens…"

Toph shrugged. "They're so alike sometimes, it's odd."

Zuko placed his face so close to Katara's that their noses were almost touching. "I TOLD YOU THAT YOU WERE ESSENTIAL TO THE PLAN! You just selectively decided not to HEAR ME! I said you're IMPORTANT because YOU CAN HEAL ANY WOUNDED PRISONERS AND FREEZE the guards IN ICE!" Zuko's right eye twitched. "And the LEAST you could do IS LISTEN PROPERLY instead of PICKING FIGHTS with me! And if I'm TOO HUNGRY TO FIGHT, it's YOUR fault for cooking such a horrible meal! I WON'T EAT IT! Make another one!"

Sokka cringed and turned around. He was beginning to be irritated at Zuko's spoiled behavior, although Katara's behavior wasn't exactly becoming either.

Katara didn't budge an inch even as he yelled in her face. Her eyebrow twitched and she yelled, "I HEARD ALL OF THAT! YOU were being an IDIOT and MADE me feel like YOU ONLY WANTED TO do it YOURSELF! AUGH! And I'm NOT making ANOTHER MEAL! If you want one, THEN MAKE IT YOURSELF! It's HARD enough having to do MOST OF THE WORK AROUND HERE! I'm NOT going to make an UNNECESSARY MEAL because you're being to SELFISH AND STUBBORN TO EAT IT!"

"I was BEING sarcastic! Who in their right mind would go ALL alone! What if I got myself captured! I haven't finished teaching Aang Firebending! And if you needed help with chores than WHY DIDN'T YOU ASK! I'd be HAPPY TO HELP! And I'm not eating that! It's more burnt than it is food!" Zuko backed away from Katara's face, putting his hands on his hips.

Finally they were starting to lower their voices and talk things out a bit. Those two were just weird. Sokka shook his head as he took the fish off the fire. "Er... Want some Zuko? Toph? Katara? It's a pretty big fish..."

Katara watched as he backed away and she ignored Sokka's comment, "Well you SURE sounded like you were being SERIOUS! And I shouldn't HAVE to ask for help with CHORES!" She groaned in frustration, running out of steam after arguing. She relaxed her shoulders slightly, "Then eat some of SOKKA'S fish instead! I don't really CARE!" Her arms started to shake from her clenching her fists so hard, but she remained in her current position, "Just…eat and get some rest! If we're going to pull this off, then we need our energy." She turned away, ending the argument and walked over to a nearby tree where she rested her head against. She took in a few cooling breaths and wiped the sweat from her brow. That was one of the largest arguments she had ever gotten herself into. It was frightening…

Zuko just let her run out of steam. He'd gotten his point across, though he didn't agree with her thinking she didn't need to ask. It's not as though anyone in the group were psychic... Except perhaps the Avatar. The prince was given a small portion of fish and he began nibbling on it with his utensils. Toph got some too but also took some of Katara's dish, as did Sokka. Zuko was the only one who refused to eat Katara's burnt food. He'd had enough of "burnt" anything lately. The fish was bland but he attempted to eat it without making any faces. He sat away from the rest of the group, under his own tree.

Sokka enjoyed his meat, occasionally scarfing it between breaths. He also scarfed the burnt food, avoiding the taste. It wasn't too terrible actually. Toph ate the burnt stuff quickly but once she got to the fish she wasn't so terribly hungry and she took her time.

Aang sighed in relief as the argument ended and he went ahead and served himself a large portion of Katara's meal. As he ate it, he licked his lips and gave a satisfied "MMMmmmm" Before stuffing in the rest of the meal. "Katara, this is good!" He exclaimed with a smile, trying to cheer her up, "Even when it's burnt, I think it's great."

Katara just gave a monosyllabic groan and leaned her shoulder against the tree that she was resting against.

"Katara? Aren't you going to eat?" Aang asked, his eyebrow raised in confusion and concern.

"No…I'm fine…" She murmured, "I'm not all that hungry…" She closed her eyes and gave a tired sigh. Her stomach did give a few pangs from hunger, but she didn't feel like she could eat anything right now.

Zuko put down his meal, stood up, and pointed at the waterbender. "What happened to 'needing our energy'? You're going to tell us that after all your yelling about "you should eat or I'll kick your butt" you're not going to eat! Don't be a hypocrite! You should EAT! I hate hypocrites! They don't have any backbone. If you believe in something you should follow it through to the end." It irritated him so badly to hear her say she wasn't hungry.

Sokka nodded in agreement. "He has a point. Katara, you need to eat. There's still some fish left too if you like. You have to eat something, you haven't eaten since last night, and you didn't even finish that dinner. And before that, you hadn't eaten since that morning."

Katara's eyes narrowed and she turned away from the tree before stomping over towards the pans of food. She scooped out a small amount of food into a dish for herself and went back over to the tree and sat with her back faced towards the others. She violently stabbed a piece of fish and a burnt vegetable with her fork and stuffed it in her mouth. Her teeth clacked against the fork, clenched tightly from frustration and anger, and she slowly began to chew the food. After the first bite, however, it was hard for her to stop and she quickly polished off the rest of the meal. Her stomach was still growling when she was done, but she just set the bowl aside and pulled a few blades of grass out of the ground to calm her nerves.

Aang was saddened at the sight. Katara looked both tired and hungry, yet she was too stubborn to do anything about it. He stood up and walked over to her, setting his hand upon her shoulder, "Katara, listen, you need to eat a bit more. That isn't enough to give you the energy you need. I'll get you the food, but I want you to eat it." He set off putting some more in her bowl and pressed it towards her. However, she didn't seem to react. She just let it lie on the ground, not making any move to eat it.

The prince sat back down and watched the others begin to gather around Katara as he stayed removed under his little tree. Sokka's face was pleading his little sister. "Katara, eat your food. We're going to get to a town tomorrow but for now, this is what we have." Sokka sat beside Katara. "I want you to be healthy." Toph nodded, sitting next to Sokka. "Yeah Katara, what's all this about eating to keep up your energy? What if Azula decides for a rematch? Not that she will, because you're so cool and all. But just in case."

Zuko hid behind the tree, just sitting there. Perhaps if he meditated for a little while, he'd begin to feel better. Katara angered him so badly. He was trying to NOT be so angry anymore. He removed his surroundings from his mind once he closed his eyes and quickly gained a state of peace and tranquility.

Katara looked over her shoulder to see her three friends standing behind her. They cared so much…She looked down at the bowl, her stomach feeling a bit queasy, but she took it in her hands and started to eat. She avoided looking at the others until her food was done, and she sent water from the stream into the bowl to rinse it out before she handed it to Sokka, "I'm sorry, guys. I guess I'm just a bit cranky and overtired." She felt much better now, her stomach wasn't growling anymore. At the mention of Azula, her spirits were lowered and her eyes glazed over as she recalled the helpless expression on the Fire Princess's face. She quickly shook her head, her heart sinking in her chest as she remembered what she had done. She quickly covered it up with a weak smile before getting to her feet.

Aang smiled as Katara ate more of the meal. She must have gotten over her anger enough to finish, and when she was done, she looked like she was in a much better mood. Knowing she was still upset, he wrapped his arms around her, and she returned the embrace. They hugged for a few seconds before breaking away. Katara's smile grew a bit bigger, "Thanks, Aang." 

Sokka smiled happily at his sister. She ate, which was a good thing. He never understood why her stomach would get upset when she was angry. His stomach rarely didn't want food, even when he didn't want any. He sat around, somewhat bored, wondering what to do. "Wow... I can't believe I'm saying this.. but I'm really bored. Ooh! Maybe I can train!" He pulled out his sword and examined it closely. He wasn't too good with the sword just yet, but with some practice he'd get it eventually.

Toph stayed where she was, picking grass for amusement. "Hey Katara... I'm bored too... What can we do for fun?"

Katara blinked, "You're asking me about what we can do for fun?" She blinked. She had to have been the least fun person here…besides Zuko of course, "Why don't you help Sokka train? We're all going to need it…if we're going to follow through with this plan." She looked at her hands and turned to Aang, "What would you like to do?"

The Avatar closed his eyes, and, remembering the conversation he had with Zuko the night before, said, "How about you give me a healing lesson? I mean…if something happens…and you can't bend…well, it would be nice to have a back-up healer in the group." 

Katara smiled, "That sounds like a good idea."

Toph looked in Sokka's general direction. "How can I help you train tough guy?" Sokka pondered quietly. "Well, you could throw small rocks at me while I'm blind-folded." Toph grinned evilly and nodded, rubbing her hands together. "That sounds like a lot of fun. Are you blind-folded yet?" Sokka shook his head and began searching for a piece of cloth to blind-fold himself with. Getting no answer, Toph assumed he did and threw a rock, which smacked Sokka right in the head. "OW! NOT YET! Can't you see- ... Oh nevermind."

Katara chuckled and motioned for Aang to follow her into the woods. She sought a secluded clearing, where the could concentrate easily, and knelt down in the grass. She pulled out a small ball of water from the water skin and smiled, "Healing is a skill that takes concentration and focus. If you don't pay attention to what you're doing, you may accidentally cause more harm then good. The key to healing is to redirect a person's chi points so that the water will help the body to create new cells quicker and easier then if it would have to heal on its own."

Aang listened carefully, "I think I got the idea…But, how are we going to practice this? We don't have any mannequins to use it on, and I'm sure we don't want to injure ourselves in order to try."

Katara tapped her chin in thought and brightened as an idea came to her. She grabbed a nearby flower from the ground and gently tore a small part of a petal, "Like people, plants are living things as well. Try to use the water to repair the cell walls of this flower." She gave him a smaller droplet of water which he had hover over his hand before he gazed down at the plant.

Sokka finally managed to blindfold himself. He tried again and again to hit the rocks that were coming after him but he failed. "Why do I keep missing them!" Toph chuckled. "You need to listen for them; otherwise you're just guessing. Think fast!" Toph sent a rock soaring for Sokka's head. He flailed wildly with a warrior's yell, attempting to block, but he only managed to look like a complete idiot as it STILL smacked him right in the forehead. "D'OW! That's hurt!" He dropped the sword and rubbed his head with tears in his eyes.

Aang bit his lip and slowly placed the drop of water onto the tear. He waved his fore and middle fingers in a circular motion, but the water only followed his fingers, and did little else.

"Here…let me help you." Katara gently took his hand into hers and pressed it closer towards the flower, "Have the water go inside of the plants. When it's outside, it can only heal the upper layer of the wound. You have to start low, and work your way upward."

Aang blushed at her touch, and noticed that the dewdrop sank into the tear. He felt the chi points below his fingers, and pushed them outwards towards the weakened cells in order to make them stronger and to create new ones. Within a few moments, the tear was gone, and the flower looked as if it had never been touched.

"Great job, Aang!" Katara said with a smile before she wrapped her arm around his shoulder and gave him a gentle squeeze, "Keep it up and you'll get it down easily."

Zuko'd fallen asleep accidently during his meditation. He had this dream that he was fighting Katara during a full moon in the north pole and she waterbended so powerfully that the spirit of the ocean came after him and grabbed him. She refused to try and save him, so he dropped into the water. It got deeper and deeper, and then... "OW! Toph, you're aiming for my head on purpose!" Zuko awoke with a start, relieved to be in the hot weather in the middle of the day.

He wiped the sweat from his brow, stood up and looked around. Aang and Katara were nowhere to be seen. Sokka and Toph were... training? _When did Sokka get that sword anyway? What is he doing? He's making a fool of himself._ The prince, who had placed his dual broadswords on his back previously, walked over to Sokka and drew his swords. "Your stance is all wrong." Sokka shook his head. "I don't need your help." He tripped Sokka with no effort and Sokka fell over, his blindfold sliding down his face. He glared at Zuko before he realized that Zuko had not one sword, but TWO. A small smile appeared on Sokka's face.

Aang blushed, grinning ear to ear at her praise, and smacked his hands together, "So, what's next? I'm ready to learn!

Katara smiled at his enthusiasm, and went over to a nearby tree. She pulled a small piece of bark from the trunk and brought it over. Then, freezing a bit of water, she cut a deep hole into it and passed the chunk of tree to Aang, "Alright, deeper wounds are much harder to heal, because you really need to focus on making sure you heal the layers in the right order. You must locate the chi points at the lowest spot of the wound and work your way upwards. It's similar to how I healed Zuko's burn." She frowned for a second at mentioning the firebender's name, but shrugged and passed Aang a larger stream of water, "Here, try it out."

Aang took control of the water and looked down at the piece of bark. He held his hand over it to tell how deep the cut was, and he pressed the water down into the crack. He started to heal the bottom most layer, but it took much more effort then the petal. The bark was hard, the walls of the cells were much more tougher and took a bit longer to repair. Katara was watching carefully, nodding her head in approval.

Before long Sokka was blindfolded again, but this time forced into a proper stance. "He's ready Toph." The prince sheathed his broadswords and crossed his arms, watching. "Hey, I'll tell her when I'm ready!" Sokka faced Zuko's general direction with a frown. "Okay Toph, I'm ready." Zuko could only roll his eyes in response. Toph threw another rock aiming right for Sokka's stomach, and Sokka actually blocked it. It was his first time today. "I blocked it! I actually blocked it!" His voice broke as he spoke joyously. Zuko offered a half smile.

As Aang finished with the piece of bark, Katara took it from him and examined it carefully, making sure he didn't miss anything. She tapped it against her knee and, seeing that it didn't break, grinned in approval, "Great job, Aang. You're getting the hang of it!" She then went back to the tree that she took the bark from and grafted it back onto the trunk herself. "Are you ready for the next lesson?" she asked.

"I sure am!" Aang replied, leaping to his feet, "What are we doing now?"

Katara drew out two streams of water from her container and held her arms over her head in a cross-like gesture before slashing them downward towards the opposite sides. The water followed her movements and a deep X-shaped cut formed on the wood. She then threw her arms behind her to combine the two streams. Punching her arm forward, her movement caused the thicker stream to stab into the center of the cut. The water went about half way before she pulled it back and streamed it into the waterskin. "Alright, now using what I just told you, try your best to repair this. The cut's much deeper and more complex, so take your time."

With Zuko's guidance Sokka had greatly improved his accuracy. As soon as he was able to block each rock thrown at him, Toph congratulated him. "Well, that's good. But now I'm bored so I'm going to pick my feet some more." Sokka took off his blindfold and gave Toph a scrunched up face. "So NOW what am I going to do?" The prince smiled at him a drew his swords. "I haven't had a partner to duel in a long time." Sokka faced Zuko with a smirk. "Bring it on."

Aang watched as Katara sent him some more water and he allowed it to coat his hands so he could set them upon the tree. He felt the deepness of the wound, and frowned as he searched for the bottom-most layer. He could "Feel" the chi points all throughout the plant, but he concentrated on the points that were broken and weak. He had to be extra careful in order to make sure he completed the furthest layer before working on a new one, but he was beginning to get the hang of it.

Both young men got into a fighting stance. Sokka kept his arms close to his body, placing his sword in front of him. Zuko spread his legs and left his torso completely vulnerable as he held his dual broadswords on each side of his body. It was as if he taunted Sokka. They both stood still for quite some time, watching each other for a move. Zuko moved first, twirling as he attacked to gain momentum. First one sword, and then the other, two halves of one whole came after Sokka. Sokka jumped back and dodged the first, but had to block the next. Zuko's offensive tactics were brilliant, yet Sokka noticed that he often left himself wide open. Now if only Sokka could turn the tables. Zuko started another attack, using his initial momentum to his advantage as he trip kicked Sokka, who jumped behind a tree to avoid being tripped.

Katara sat nearby, watching as Aang worked hard to repair the tree. He was making so much progress within the short amount of time he had…He reminded her of herself when she started out. It was from sheer determination and hard work that they acquired the amazing skills they had now. The Waterbender remembered when all she could do was catch a fish with a bubble of water. She smiled at the memory, so much had changed since then…

The Avatar was only half way through the hole in the tree, and he took a quick second to wipe his brow. He never thought healing was so complicated…How did Katara make it seem so easy? He recalled Zuko's burn, and wondered how she managed to heal most of it within a few seconds. It must've taken a lot of practice…He gave a sigh. All of these lessons…No wonder they all were completely exhausted at night. Between training and fighting off Azula, it took a lot out of them.

"Is that all you've got Sokka? I remember you being a more formidable opponent than this. I'm beginning to fall asleep of boredom!" Zuko chased after Sokka, who'd taken off into the woods. "And I remember you being much more pathetic!" Sokka stuck out his tongue at Zuko who proceeded to run after him faster. "Come back here and fight me coward!" Sokka laughed. "No I think I'd rather keep running away!" Zuko firebended out of his swords to block Sokka's path. They were very weak, unable to catch to the forest, but they stopped Sokka dead in his tracks due to how hostile they APPEARED.

Katara pushed herself up to her feet and went to Aang's side, watching silently as he continued to "heal" the tree. She could see the sweat running down his face. He was really trying hard…and his patience with it amazed her. He really had come far from being that goofy little kid she found in the iceberg. He was determined to take on his role as the Avatar, and she admired him for that.

Aang felt Katara's comforting presence beside him and he felt more at ease with her by his side. He soon finished repairing the gaping hole in the tree and started on the cross-shaped cut she made. Because the area of the slice was thinner, he found it easier to restore it back to its original state.

Sokka stood in front of a tree like a deer caught in headlights. Zuko came at him full force, but Sokka dodged at the last second, causing Zuko's broadswords to get caught in the tree. "EEK! You were really trying to kill me there weren't you!" Sokka ran off again. "If you stood still I would have stopped them from being a fatal blow! Come back here! Nh! Ugh! They're stuck!" Zuko pulled and pulled his broadswords, but they just wouldn't come out.

Aang finished with his lesson and he smacked his hands together, "There, how does that look?"

Katara examined the tree, running her hand across it to check for any signs of her attack, and she smiled in approval, "It's perfect…Now…" she stopped and turned her head as she heard Sokka cry out. "Okay, lesson's over, let's see what's going on with the others." She grabbed onto his wrist and ran in the direction of the sound. Aang stumbled and did his best to keep up so he wouldn't trip.

Sokka ran into Katara with a smile on his face and sweat on his brow. "Hey Katara, how's the healing lesson going?" He looked back to the direction he was running from with concern, but nothing was there. The fire prince decided he had to use destructive force to get his broadswords out. He firebended through the swords, causing the tree to dehydrate around its wounds and therefore shrink somewhat. 

The broadswords came out with ease and he then took to the trees to find and close in on Sokka. "I can't believe him. We're supposed to be training and he's just running away. Come to think of it, that's what he always used to do. Why did I think I'd get an actual sparring partner?"

Katara rolled her eyes. And here she thought something important was going on, "The lesson's going fine. Aang's doing great." She let go of the young Airbender's arm and smiled, "Soon we'll have two healers in the group. That will make things a bit more comfortable in the long run, especially for me." She turned to the complaining Zuko and sighed, "Well, if you're going to freak Sokka out with your firebending, of course he's going to run away. Just quit the fire show and fight with him like a normal warrior.

Aang smiled, "And if that doesn't work, I'll be glad to spar with you. I always wanted to try and make an air sword…hmm…" He pondered the idea, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

Zuko made a face. "An air sword? ... Like a fire sword?" Sokka took the time bought to catch his breath. "Yeah Zuko, stop using your firebending while we're sparring. It's not fair." The prince narrowed his eyes at Sokka. "Maybe I wouldn't use my firebending if you'd stop running away like a sissy." Sokka's eyes bulged out. "I wasn't running like a sissy! I was just trying to find the right time to attack!" Zuko rolled his eyes. "Running away sort of defeats the purpose of sparring. So Aang... Having two healers.. is going to be useful for the plan.. and firebending too.. since you were so worried before about not being ready. Now you can just heal if you make a mistake." 

Sokka smiled. "And if you never made that mistake and burned my sister like an idiot, she would have never found out she had healing powers in the first place." Zuko raised his brow at Sokka and then looked at Aang, and then Katara. Ooh the things he's missed out on.

Aang smiled, "Yup, that's what I mean!" He smiled and looked at Sokka, "Well, sometimes a good warrior knows when to retreat to find better ground to fight on. Sokka was just trying to use the area as an advantage…at least, I think that's what he was doing." He gave a shrug, "I'm not entirely sure how the sword fighting thing works myself, but he sure did a great job fighting his sword master."

Katara noticed Zuko's confused expression and shook her head, "It's a long story, one that I'm not too keen on sharing right now." Sokka was right of course. She had to be thankful to firebending for that…but that was about all that it had going for it in her opinion.

"That's okay", Zuko murmured. He seemed to empathize even though he hadn't been explained the situation. He then turned to Sokka. "If I promise not to firebend or harm you, will you promise not to run away? I mean-- I wouldn't harm you anyway." Sokka raised a brow. "Yes, I'm suuure you wouldn't. Okay, that sounds like a fair deal. I want to hear you promise." Zuko seemed mildly insulted. "Yes, on my honor I swear not to firebend at you and harm you in any way. Which by the way when I firebended, it was all show. None of it was harmful. You could walk through it." Sokka's raised eyebrow twitched. "Yeah right! It was yellow and scary!" Zuko just sighed at him and shook his head.

Katara shook her head and murmured, "Boys…" Before turning to Aang, "Well, I think we can take a break on the healing lesson for a bit. How about we have a little spar of our own? It'll be nice to get some exercise after that experience."

Aang nodded vigorously, "Sure, sounds good to me. Let's find a good place to fight." He grabbed onto _her_ arm this time and pulled her in the direction of the river. He examined the area, there was a small clearing on the other side, so he created an ice bridge over the water and motioned for her to cross, "After you, Katara."

The Waterbender smiled at his generosity and started to cross the bridge. However, Aang's face had a mischievous look on it and he melted the water as she stood half-way across, causing her to plummet into the water.

Katara quickly rose back to the surface with an indignant look and then began to laugh. So, he wanted to play _that_ way. Well, she had a few tricks of her own. With a subtle motion of her hand at her side, she caused a thick stream of water to slither across the ground behind the unsuspecting Airbender. She then gave a violent jerk of her arm and the stream pressed full force into his back, sending him flying face-first into the river. Katara then lifted her arms upwards, allowing a pillar of water to lift her from the water. She leapt backwards onto the opposite shore and got into a fighting stance, making a 'bring it on' gesture with her hand.

Sokka and Zuko watched their antics. Sokka laughed at his sister and Zuko chuckled softly at her revenge. She didn't seem like such a bad person once he began to get to know her. As she slowly was able to ignore his presence, he was able to see that she was a human being underneath all of her hurt and anger towards him. He turned such a sweet girl into an evil, venomous one? It hurt his self esteem to think that way, but he was certain that was the truth.

Sokka was just glad that Katara's mood was improving. She'd been a grump since Zuko joined and even more so when she had to use her marionette-style waterbending, or as Hama called it, blood bending. But this was the side of Katara that Sokka much preferred. He took notice of Zuko's distraction and initiated a blatant attack with his sword. "Haaa!" Zuko, seeing this coming from a mile away, used his arm to hit Sokka in the neck and adjusted his leg to trip Sokka. Sokka came tumbling down into the dirt. "OGH! How did you see me?" Zuko shook his head. "Sneak attacks should be silent."

Katara heard Sokka laugh, and she smiled as Aang leapt out of the water and flew over her head to land on the other side of her. She held her arms at her side, her palms separated to allow a ball of water to hover between her hands and she pushed them forward, sending it soaring as a giant snowball towards Aang.

Aang saw the snowball and nimbly leapt aside. As it drew near to his side, he held his arms out and caught it before turning it back into water. He then sent it flying at her and twisted his foot on the ground before stomping down, turning the earth behind her into loose sand. As Katara stepped back to avoid the oncoming water, her foot sank into the ground and she had time to look up in shock before the water hit her right smack in the face, soaking her more then she already was.

Her brow furrowing at the trick, she pulled her foot out and charged towards Aang, dodging a blast of air he sent at her from his hands. She summoned a whip of water from the river and performed a flip over his head in order to land behind his back and she threw the long strand of water towards him. The whip wrapped around his stomach and she pulled back, causing him to come towards her and she sent a blast of water from the ground into his face, "Ha! Payback!" She shouted before backing up a safe distance.

Zuko watched in amazement at the way Aang used so many elements with a sort of natural tendency. It was if the fighting styles all blended together with harmony. And even though Aang didn't use fire, he noticed some firebender like quick gestures from time to time, even before he'd ever been taught it. It was almost as if the monk had been subconsciously been learning firebending from him the whole time. Which was entirely plausible.

Sokka pulled grass out from between his teeth, spitting to get the dirt out of his mouth. "Bleh.. You're no fun to spar with. You're too good at it. It's because you have two swords. Not fair at all." Zuko rolled his eyes. "Would you like to switch weapons?" Sokka pondered this for a moment. "No, I don't feel like sparring anymore." 

"That's just because you'd still lose."

"Would not!"

"Would so."

"I totally would win if I had two swords."

"Whatever you say Sokka."

Katara paused for a second and heard the two arguing and she chuckled softly. She noticed that it was getting pretty late…The sun was beginning to set. As Aang sent another blast of air at her, she parried it with a wave of water and yelled, "Time out, Aang! We should quit before it gets dark." She was worried about fighting him when the moon was out. Plus she was still tired. She hadn't gotten much sleep since she stayed up talking to Zuko, "We should get ready to set up camp. I'm sure we'll be fine tonight. And Sokka and Zuko are probably getting tired of swordfighting now." She lifted her voice so the other two could hear. 

Aang paused in the middle of another attack and nodded softly, "I guess you're right. We should have one more good nights sleep before Azula's on our trail again…" His voice trailed off. He really wanted to look on the bright side, but wherever they went, it seemed those three girls were always on their tails, "We better get our rest before that starts to happen again."

Zuko and Sokka nodded and proceeded to head for camp. "Zuko, since you're part of our group now, I want you to help us set up camp. I guess since Katara strangely hasn't tried to make you do your part, I will. Gather the firewood, and I'll set up the tents. Aang and Katara can gather some food for dinner and breakfast. Uhh.. Toph should probably continue resting her feet. Any questions?" Zuko shook his head and began to do exactly as he was told. He followed orders pretty well for a prince.

Katara and Aang crossed the river once again (This time without knocking each other in) and overheard their conversation. She turned to Aang and whispered, "Fruits and vegetables?" smirking slightly as her blue eyes snuck a quick look at the two meat lovers. Aang quickly nodded and chuckled, "Yeah, especially after what happened at lunch." Katara rolled her eyes, "Don't remind me…"

The two set off to find some fruit bearing trees in order to find what they needed. Within a few minutes, their arms were loaded and they arrived back at the camp, laughing along the way at the piles of non-meaty foods in their hands. "I wonder how long it'll take them to notice." Katara said with an evil grin.

Sokka put up the tents and noticed as Katara and Aang were coming back with food. "Wow, that was fast." Toph had fallen asleep, curled up in a little ball.

Zuko came back soon after Sokka's statement with a huge stack of dry sticks and a big log. He placed it all down and began to organize the firepit with great ease, as if he'd done it a million times previous. He set it aflame. It was a brilliant and beautiful fire. "Fire's done."

Katara smirked, "Well, since you have that done." She dropped the vegetables into his lap, "Then why don't you cook? Because apparently, my cooking is just too terrible for you to eat. If you don't want to go hungry, I suggest you get started and make the meal right." She looked at Aang and winked at him before sitting across from the fire, watching carefully to see how Zuko was going to handle the situation.

Aang winked back and quickly sat the vegetables down on the ground. He then sat close to Katara, laughing softly at what she just did. He also wondered what the Fire Prince was going to do. Had he ever cooked before?

Zuko watched the vegetables for a little while. _This is a test. They're testing me. I'll show them._ "Alright, I'll cook tonight." He grabbed the small basin of water that he'd gotten for the fire and washed the vegetables in it. He'd seen his uncle cook before, so surely it must not be that hard. Pulling out his beautifully crafted knife he looked for a surface to cut them on. There was nothing. "... Where do I cut these?" He muttered. Giving up, Zuko decided to use the pot to catch the cuttings in, but to cut them in his hand. He watched each vegetable curiously for several moments before deciding what he should do with them, but for each vegetable he at least had a general concept correctly performed.

Katara watched him carefully, so far so good. She was actually kind of impressed, she never expected him to cut them right. Then, she noticed something and she coughed lightly, "Erm…that's quite a bit of onion, don't you think?" She held back a laugh. He obviously didn't know exactly what kind of food he was making. He looked like he was about to cut up all the vegetables she gave him, "Listen, not all of those need to go in! Just take a few and mix them." She smacked herself in the face, maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

Zuko took out some of the onion slices and sniffed them, making a face. "Right... too much of that might not be so good." He just threw the slices aside and began looking amongst the pile for other items to place into the pot. He chose several carrot-like vegetables and potato-like vegetables and cut them up somewhat properly. He left the skin on the potato-like vegetables. But once he cut them up it was really too late to skin them.

He then looked around. "... so... I just.. cook them like this? How do I make it soupy?"

Katara groaned. So he was completely clueless… "Are you missing my cooking already?" she asked mockingly, "Seriously, I mean, you're really not doing any better then my last batch. And the only reason that didn't turn out was because I was distracted and so the food got burnt. It would've been much better if that didn't happen." She elbowed Aang lightly, "It seems like our little Prince friend here isn't as good at everything as he think he is." Her tone grew a bit cold. She felt he deserved it after he shunned her own meal.

The prince narrowed his once questioning eyes at Katara. She wasn't trying to be nice before, she must've been mocking him all along. He didn't know how to make it into soup and now everyone was going to suffer and say it was his fault. He felt like he was being manipulated by his sister all over again, and it caused him to bristle. "I never said I was a good cook."

Katara rolled her eyes and went over to the fire in order to take over, "Let me take care of it. Just sit and wait like the others." She took the pot and, adding a bit of water, allowed the water to stew a bit before she added a few seasonings from Sokka's bag. Soon, a tasty aroma wafted from the pot, and she smirked in triumph before going back to sit by Aang, "Now, I'm sure you can finish it off now. Just try not to stir it too much." 

Instead of being shoved aside, the prince took note of everything Katara did. Once he was allowed to take over, he stirred occasionally, but not too terribly often. He eyeballed it. _So it was about that much water... and Sokka has spices in his bag. That should be duplicatable enough. This loss will be the beginning of many victories._ Zuko smirked in triumph. He'd learned how to successfully make soup, and this simple knowledge gave him real pleasure. His uncle was right all along. The simple pleasures were the best. Like making soup as well as Katara and showing her.

Katara noticed Zuko smirking, and she sat up a bit straighter. What was he smiling about? She expected him to throw yet another tantrum, but he didn't even look angry. He looked like he just won a battle. Weird…she had just felt the same way…Something was wrong…It looked like her plan backfired. Instead of having him feel bad and her feel triumphant about it, it was the other way around.

Aang noticed Katara's unease. He hadn't seen the smirk upon Zuko's face, so he wondered why she was feeling self-conscious about the soup. It couldn't be that bad, it smelled delicious.

"This soup smells very good... Thank you for teaching me how Katara." Zuko's evil little smirk grew, but then became a sweet little smile (poisoned by said previous evil smirk). Not only was he completely victorious over Katara, he was also plain happy he'd learned how to make soup. It was difficult when he didn't know how to cook as a fugitive, but now he felt invincible. "I'd like to cook tomorrow as well, so you could find me the same ingredients, right?" 

Sokka perked up right on cue. "Well, we're going to be in town tomorrow so why not have Katara help you buy supplies? I'm sure she'd like a strong young back to carry the supplies for her. Won't you Katara? Doesn't that sound nice? Making Zuko carry whatever you pick out?" Yeah, Sokka was very predictable. His plans to make Zuko miserable at any chance possible were so easy to figure out. Zuko raised his brow at Sokka's plan and looked at Katara. "Uhh I'd hold the supplies you gather I suppose. It doesn't sound too hard." Knowing her, she'd probably agree to such mild evil torture. And then he could learn more about soup making. "And then I can buy some parchment or paper.. uh.. something to write on. And ink! And a brush. And stuff like that." Sokka nodded.

Katara's eyes narrowed into a death glare as Zuko smirked at her. She bit her lip as Sokka told her the plan for tomorrow. At least she'll have a chance to get back at him for it. "It sounds like a good plan to me. I'll get as many supplies as we need that'll last us a few days." This allowed her to smirk right back at Zuko, "I'm sure the little Prince would love to help me carry the stuff. It looks like we have a full day of shopping tomorrow." 

She wondered how well Zuko would take to shopping. He wasn't the patient type…maybe she could drag it out as long as she can to add to her payback. She closed her eyes at the thought. This was going to be fun.

_Little prince?_ "Don't call me that! My name is Zuko, or Prince Zuko, or your highness. I'm not a little prince." He turned his slouched back to her and tried the soup. It was delicious. "... Soup's done." He took it off the fire and Sokka handed him the bowls and spoons. "Here you go, you can serve it to us." Zuko shrugged and gave everyone a bowl full of soup and proceeded to drink his own. 

He wondered if Katara was as much of an idiot shopper as his uncle. No one was probably, so at least he didn't have to deal with telling her to put stuff back or saying it's a stupid purchase. But all day? Who takes all day shopping when they've got to help the Avatar? "We can't take all day because Aang needs to continue his training tomorrow, but I'd be glad to assist you for a few hours Katara." He never understood why she needed to nickname him. He never called her belittling nicknames.

Katara, "Whatever you say, Zuko." She absolutely refused to refer to him as "Your Highness". She took her bowl of soup and took a bite, smiling at the flavor. She didn't do all that bad, "I was joking around. I'm not going to spend an entire day in a marketplace, especially when we have some serious training to do." She shook her head. He actually took her seriously? He must've had some bad experience shopping…well, she would have to see how he was going to do. 

Aang gobbled his soup really quickly. He was feeling tired from all of the training he did, and he wanted to sleep as soon as possible. When his food was gone, he smacked his hands together and send an air current around him, splashing the water that soaked him in every which way.

"Hey! Watch it!" Katara couldn't help but laugh softly when the water got onto her. She just caused it to evaporate and did the same for her own clothes. "I guess it is about time we all get to bed. We have a long day ahead of us…" She began to pick up the dirty dishes and went over to the small stream to wash them up. The sooner she got everything done, the better. She was feeling exhausted herself.

"Ugh!" Zuko had been splashed as well. The water steamed off of him, leaving him completely dry afterwards. Before long there really wasn't much activity amongst the group. Just a pleasant sunset and occasional chitchat, but before long everyone had decided to go to sleep early. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day. The night was quiet and uneventful, leading to a gorgeous and peaceful sunrise.

At the crack of this beautiful sunrise, Zuko woke up. His body tended to rise right with the sun, perhaps because he was a firebender. Or maybe it's just because he's a creature of habit. As soon as he woke up he rubbed his eyes, stretched, meditated, and then left to go wash himself and rinse his mouth in the river.

Within a few minutes of Zuko's leaving, Katara soon woke up and set off getting breakfast ready. The others were still asleep, but the sun was slowly rising above the horizon. They would be up in a bit, and she wanted to make sure she had their meal ready.

She immediately noticed that Zuko wasn't in the camp. He must've gone to clean up. She was feeling a bit nervous about going into town with him. Part of her was uncomfortable with traveling alone with the firebender, but part of her saw the opportunity for amusement. The latter won out.

She grabbed a knife and began to slice a few apples. She even sprinkled a bit of cinnamon over them to add extra flavor, and separated them onto individual dishes. She then began to saddle Appa for the short trip, and packed up her tent. She gathered their supplies and cooking utensils and brought them up onto the saddle. 

Appa yawned loudly and gave a low rumble to bring her attention to him. Katara went up to his face and gave him a small hug, "Good morning, Appa." She said with a smile, "We just have a short trip ahead. I hope you don't mind if I pack up early."

The bison gently nuzzled her to show that he didn't and he rested his head on the ground to wait for take-off./

Zuko felt the heat of the day already and was glad to strip and get into the cold water. It felt very refreshing. He drank from the river for a while before dunking his head and rinsing his hair. He pulled out a small bar of soap and soaped up his hair. It had been a while since he thoroughly washed it, and it felt greasy and disgusting. He soaped up the rest of himself and placed the bar of soap in his bag before dipping in for a quick swim/rinse. Swimming wasn't his favorite form of exercise, but it was one he liked. After swimming he dried himself off, shaved, and combed his hair neatly.

He arrived back in camp clean and well groomed. His hair actually seemed as if he'd bothered combing it, and his teenage whiskers were shaved off. His face looked smooth as a baby.

Sokka and Toph continued to sleep as if they hadn't already been sleeping almost twelve hours at that point. They both had that in common; they really liked their sleep.

Katara heard Zuko come in and she noticed that he indeed cleaned up. She motioned towards the apples and said, "I made you some breakfast. I hope you don't mind…that's all we have until we get some more food…You sure taking going into town seriously..." She ran her fingers through her hair and, noticing they got snarled easily, went up to grab a brush from one of her bags and ran it through her hair, "Okay, maybe I shouldn't talk, I probably look like a slob myself."

Aang was murmuring softly in his sleep, obviously dreaming. "Come…penguin sledding…come on, Bumi, it's fun."

Zuko took Katara's somewhat pleasant and friendly nature with almost naive optimism and he sat beside her with some breakfast. "No, you look fine", he said quietly, not really meaning anything behind it. He was always ready to turn over a new leaf, whenever Katara was. He sniffed the food and took a small bite, which he began chewing. He seemed to accept the meager breakfast without much thought, as if he was thinking of something else entirely.

Sokka's foot was hanging out of the tent and the toes kept spreading and then relaxing. It was something his body just did every now and then ever since he was a small boy. But to the newcomer it just appeared odd. Zuko watched the foot with mild curiosity as he ate. Sokka was really weird. He must've been some sort of a genius or something. Geniuses tend to be weird.

Katara saw Zuko watch Sokka curiously and she smiled as she finished brushing through her hair. She then set the brush back into her bag and climbed back down from Appa. She grabbed her own plate of the fruit and began to eat. A peaceful, yet somewhat awkward silence followed. When she was finished, she set her plate down and stood up to stretch. She lifted her arms above her head and arched her back, hoping to get rid of some of the stiffness in her bones that came overnight.

"Well, should we wake up the others? We should really get going soon."

Zuko nodded. "Everyone wake up now! We've got to leave soon!" Sokka mumbled and the foot disappeared under the tent and the snoring ensued. Toph broke out of the earth tent and dusted herself off. "I'm ready." She was standing on her feet, so it seemed her feet were recovering alright. The prince was relieved at that.

Aang murmured once again, but his eyes slowly opened. He crawled out of his tent and rubbed his eyes, "Alright, I'm ready. I'll start packing up." He was a bit sleepy for the first few minutes but he soon woke more and he was able to back up his tent and throw it on top of Appa's saddle. He then went to Sokka's tent and frowned before sending a blast of air into there to blow the warrior's blankets and tent off, "Come on, Sokka! We gotta get going!"

The tent came flying aside and crumpled into a heap, as did the blanket. This exposed Sokka's odd sleeping position, which he had his arms above his head and his legs wide open. "Nrr... Five more minutes... five... minutes... Sleep now..." Sokka curled into fetal position and began to snore again.

Zuko was beginning to realize this was a daily occurrence for the group. "Everyone else is awake and you have to be too. Get up Sokka." He walked over to Sokka, squatted beside him and began to prod. Sokka opened his eyes only to see creepy yellow firenation eyes glaring at him, which startled him. "AGH! Oh... it's just you... I almost thought it was the firelord for a second there... Five minutes. I swear..." He turned over and tried to fall back asleep.

The prince felt indignant to be compared to his father. Even though they looked somewhat alike... And Sokka was just going to go back to sleep? "No! Not five more minutes! Wake up now!" Zuko pulled Sokka to his feet and kept his hands on his shoulders for balance. Sokka wiggled like jelly for about ten seconds before groaning and standing of his own will. "Okay... okay..." Zuko then let go and walked off to finish packing his things.

Katara watched in amusement as Zuko woke Sokka up. She watched as her brother slowly began to wake and she motioned towards the food, "There's breakfast, it's not much, but it'll have to do until we get some shopping done." She turned to Toph and Aang, "You should eat something too. I made plenty for everyone."

Aang nodded and took his own plate. He ate the meal quickly to not waste time, and he licked his lips in satisfaction, "Mmm hmmm. Now that's what you call a breakfast. No meat, just some healthy, flavorful fruit." 

Katara smiled and took his plate from his hands before washing it in the stream. She then placed it with everything else and looked around, "Alright, as soon as everyone eats and packs, we can get going."

Sokka ate his fruit with a dull face. "As soon as we get into town I'm buying some jerky and other meaty assortments. I'll bet Zuko misses meat too. Right Zuko?" Zuko made a face. "What's jerky?" Sokka's eyes widened. "You don't know what jerky is? It's dried cured meat." The prince shook his head. "Oh, that. My father never let us have cured meat. He said it was only tasty to commoners... er.. I'm not saying I agree with him. I just never had it before." Toph laughed and began talking between chews. "My parents felt the same way. 'Only the freshest and the best for our daughter!' They were so lame. But cured meat is actually pretty good."

Katara smiled, "You poor deprived child." She smirked at Zuko, "So, now you get a taste of what 'peasant life' is all about. Though I'd take being a 'commoner' over being royalty any day. I like the simple life." She sighed and picked at the grass once again, waiting for the others to get done. As she looked to the side, she saw Momo curled up next to her, and she smiled before stroking his back. Yeah, living a normal life wasn't so bad…although she often wondered how it would be like to live in a wealthy family. Things would be easier, yes, but freedom would be limited. It didn't sound all that fun to her.

Aang made a face at the mention of jerky. "It's bad enough having fresh meat around…but old dry cured meat? It just doesn't seem that appetizing to me…" 

"I was living the life of a peasant for a while when we were fugitives of the fire nation, but every day I learn something new about the commoner life. I think it's very practical knowledge. Royalty should live commoner lives more often. It's humbling." Sokka stopped packing his things and watched Zuko for a moment. "Wow, did I just hear wise words from Zuko? Hey, I've got to respect that. And when you become Firelord you'll be able to truly sympathize with their every day problems." Zuko nodded. "And I'll know very well how much the other nations have suffered because of my nation. I hope that will come in handy too." Sokka was finished packing up as was Toph and Zuko. They were pretty much set.

Katara listened well to Sokka and Zuko. Zuko as the next Fire Lord…it could happen, and most likely would if they defeated his father. She wondered how she would think of that…This hot-tempered teen hadn't really acted in a lordly manner, ever since she met him. Well, except for the platypus bear…but that was just one thing…

But then she considered the other possibility…Azula. If she ever became the ruler of the firenation…it would be total and utter chaos. Katara shuddered, yeah…she definitely preferred Zuko when it came to him being the Fire Lord.

Aang noticed that the others were finished and he helped Katara wash the remaining dishes before they prepared for take-off. He leapt up onto Appa's head and grabbed onto the reins, waiting patiently for the others to get on.

Katara picked up the sleeping Momo and double checked the area to make sure they didn't forget anything. She automatically placed a finger upon her mother's necklace, and gave a sad smile before she climbed up to the saddle. 

"Is everyone set?" Aang asked. When he received their nods, he gently shook the reins and yelled, "Yip Yip!"

Appa gave a loud roar and took off into the sky, flapping his tail up and down in order to soar higher into the air.

Toph curled up against Sokka, which had become an increasing habit as of late. Sokka allowed this, curling his arm around hers without much thought. She really hated flying but he made it bearable. The watertribe boy watched Zuko curiously, wondering what a 'good' Firelord would be like. The world without war, would he live long enough to see it? Would they all be friends? What would they do after it was all over? His mind simply couldn't fathom. There were too many different possibilities. Too many 'what ifs'. "Hey, prince, what're you going to do when your father is overthrown anyway?" Zuko watched the surroundings for a while, seemingly having not heard the question. But then his brow lowered and he spoke. "I'll do whatever is best for the people of the Firenation."

"Yeah, but what would that be? Let me guess. Make sure Azula doesn't seize power. Am I right?" Sokka smiled like the joker he was. "I figured that went without saying. She doesn't have any rights to the throne but that won't stop her." He'd rather leave it at that. He was afraid of the idea of killing her, but he was also afraid of exposing this fear to his comrades who didn't see her the way he did. They'd never know her the way he did, as a little sister.

Katara looked up as the two conversed. Did she hear Zuko right? _I'll do whatever is best for the people of the Firenation. _She wondered if it were true. He spoke with an utmost tone of seriousness. She couldn't detect any deceit in his voice. She felt like she did when they spoke earlier in the morning…it seemed so long ago. He was actually appearing _human. _She wondered how good of a ruler he would be. He was strong, smart…okay, maybe not so much as that. But still, he never gives up, and that was a trait admirable in rulers. She almost felt a bit of respect for him. Almost…but not quite.

"Well, what're you going to do if she tries to overthrow you oh great future Firelord?" Sokka wasn't really mocking, but his tone was pretty light hearted. He was genuinely curious about this whole idea about Zuko being a ruler. It just boggled his mind.

"... I'm... not entirely sure." Zuko didn't seem to like this subject at all. His sister caused all sorts of turmoil in his mind. His weakness for his sibling was as plainly visible as the scar on his face. "Let's just see what happens first." Sokka recognized this weakness and narrowed his eyes. "If she had to die would you...?" He couldn't finish the sentence, knowing full well how difficult it would be for him to have to kill his own sister. But she was a bowl of sunshine, and Azula was this bowl of... evil. Zuko's eyes narrowed at Sokka. "I said let's just see what happens!" "But you didn't answer--" Zuko's fists clenched and he got louder. "It's not up for discussion!" He promptly turned his back to the others and huffed.

Katara's mouth dropped to a frown at Zuko's outburst. Well, so much for her respect for him. If he were really up for the job, well, he would have given Sokka a straight answer. She sighed, well, they would have to see what the future held for all of them. Before Zuko needed to worry about lordship, he had to worry about helping Aang overthrow his father first. They had to take it one step at a time. "Calm down, Zuko. He was just trying to ask you a question."

Thankfully, Aang interrupted before anything else could be said. "Hey guys, we're at the next island! I'll land Appa somewhere secluded and we can continue from there." He pulled on the reins slightly in order to turn the Bison towards a cave nearby. It was perfect shelter, just the right size to fit a bison, a lemur, and five kids. And it was hidden well in case there were Fire Nation soldiers in the area.

Zuko grumbled under his breath in response to Katara and got off of the bison as soon as he could. His mood had turned from solemn to dour. "Let's just get this shopping over with..." He began walking ahead of everyone else and Sokka soon followed behind.

Toph stayed with Appa. "Hey, as much as I'd like to walk around all day, my feet hurt still. I'm going to stay here and watch our stuff. Err.. You get what I mean. Bring me back something good to eat and I'm happy."

Sokka finally managed to catch up with the firenation prince. "Hey, don't be so grumpy. I didn't mean any harm. I just thought it--" Zuko's glare stopped Sokka from talking anymore. "Hey, okay. You need space. Got it." He stopped and allowed Zuko to walk ahead of everyone else and muttered under his breath "what an obnoxious short tempered jerk". It irritated him that Zuko wouldn't even let him smooth things over. He wouldn't even let him finish what he had to say.

Katara glared angrily at Zuko's back. Her brother was only trying to help! Whatever she had felt about him before was completely wiped out. He shouldn't be the Fire Lord unless he decided to grow up! She let out her frustration in an angered groan and she threw her arms into the air, "Zuko! You're impossible!" She ran ahead to his side in order to look at the side of his face. The angered look never left from her face, "Sokka was trying to apologize! Augh, why can't you get rid of your stupid pride for one moment and actually listen for once!"

Aang groaned…here they go again…He tapped Sokka on the shoulder and whispered, "Let's say we look for some parchment and ink. I don't want to be caught in their crossfire."

The town was slowly coming into view and Sokka took Aang away from his sister and Zuko as soon as they could be separated. "It's a good thing I took some of Zuko's money beforehand, because I don't think he'd let us use it right now. I can't believe that guy. Issues."

The fireprince would not respond to Katara. He was hurt and angry, and he really needed some time to cool off. It's not as though he actually cut Sokka off. He just looked at the guy and he realized he needed to back off. Any apology wasn't going to be taken well in this state, and Zuko knew that much about himself. So he ignored Katara as they came into town, an irritated look on his face.

Aang nodded, "Well, he's got a bit of a temper problem…but sometimes he can be a really cool guy." He looked at the money in Sokka's hand and he laughed, "You're so…sneaky."

Katara grew indignant as Zuko refused to respond, "Answer me when I talk to you, Zuko! I'm not going to have you ignore me!" She grabbed his shoulder and pushed it back to force him to face her. The look on her face was one of pure rage, from him shunning her brother, and for refusing to reply to her. "Now why don't you just GROW UP! You're acting like a little CHILD! TALK TO US when something is bothering you. Don't keep IGNORING us!"

The townspeople began to stare as they passed, which caused Zuko to become uncomfortable. "Would you quiet down Katara? I'm a fugitive, remember?" He hissed, keeping his voice at a harsh whisper. He completely disregarded her outburst otherwise and took her hands off of his shoulders without even a hint of delicacy. He turned and began walking towards the food market.

Katara ignored the looks the townspeople gave her and she tailed him closely, her face flushed. "You keep ignoring me, but it's NOT going to help!" her voice lowered a bit, but it still held the sharp edge that revealed her anger, "The little Prince doesn't WANT to talk! He think's he's too GOOD to speak with a 'common peasant' girl! Why don't you ANSWER me and quit acting like you don't HEAR me! I'm not going to leave you alone until you APOLOGIZE to my brother!"

A small crowd had begun to gather and several Firenation soldiers who just so happened to be stationed in the area recognized the 'little prince'. The soldiers stood up and snuck behind the two. There was also obviously a girl in association with the banished prince, which was entirely illegal considering he was a fugitive. Therefore she was guilty by association. And so they attacked both from behind with a noxious gas. You couldn't be too cautious with someone as dangerous as Prince Zuko, who planned to overthrow his own father. 

Zuko immediately turned around at the sound of an explosive and realized there was gas surrounding them. He couldn't see or breathe, and he began coughing. He couldn't even talk. He covered his mouth with his sleeve, but the gasses were already causing him to be sluggish. He also covered Katara's mouth, hoping he could help, but also surprised he had enough sleeves to cover such a huge thing. He tried to run with her, but they were quickly subdued in a net.

Katara's eyes widened in shock as an explosion shook right behind them and they were surrounded with a thick cloud of gas. As she gasped in shock, she took in a breath of the noxious fumes and began to cough. Something pressed against her face, but her mind was too foggy to realize what it was. She felt herself being pushed forward, but before she could make a run for it, something closed around her and she crashed to the ground. She was aware of Zuko pressing against her, coughing from the gas, and her blurry eyes only managed to see an armored hand reaching down before her vision went black.


	5. Episode 5: Captured and Alone

**Oh gosh, XD Zutarians are going to LOVE this chapter. But that's all I'll say :P**

**Episode 5: **Captured and Alone

"Unngh…wh…where am I?" the words came out of Katara's mouth before she even could open her eyes. She could only see darkness at first, but her vision became clearer as she slowly blinked. She tried to rub her eyes, but her arms were chained behind her back. She tightly closed her eyelids and reopened them. The effects of the gas were wearing off, and she was able to see a bit clearer in the dark room.

The Waterbender immediately noticed Zuko chained similarily in the same cell, right in front of her. His eyes were still closed, and his breathing was growing heavier. He was going to wake up soon…Great…She awkwardly twisted around into a sitting position. She would have to find a way to get the chains off quickly…if she could use her arms, she could get them out of the cages with ease. But how…? She jumped slightly when she saw Zuko stir.

His golden eyes fluttered open as he grunted and cleared his throat. He looked around, seemingly unaware of his surroundings for a few moments. He then noticed Katara and looked straight at her. "You have my attention now."

Katara watched as Zuko woke up and her eyes narrowed at his comment. "It's not like it matters now anyway!" she hissed as she looked back, trying to pull at the shackles on her wrists, "Augh! Stupid…chains!" She felt completely powerless. Without use of her arms, she was unable to bend. And being unable to bend was a BAD thing. "Great…out of all the people I could've been captured and stuck with, it had to be you! How can my luck get any worse!" She tried to slam the chain down on the steel floor, but she missed and hit the tips of her knuckles instead. She cried out in frustration and anger and glared at Zuko, "You stubborn little jerk! If you hadn't been ignoring us in the first place, this NEVER would have happened!"

Zuko's face contorted with anger. His lip pursed. "I was TRYING TO CALM DOWN! And I TOLD you that I'm a fugitive! I told my father I was planning to overthrow him! Why did you think it was a good idea to tout around that I'm a prince! It's bad enough my face is hard to miss! I was trying to stay down low while in town! And what's wrong with cooling off before speaking!" He didn't fight the chains, he was solely fixated on Katara. She really DID have his full attention. "What part of FUGITIVE from the law don't you understand!"

Katara's mouth opened, but she closed it and turned her sapphire eyes to gaze at the ground beside her. She couldn't deny it…this entire thing was her fault. She was always so wound up in her arguments, that she wouldn't be able to stop herself even if she actually tried. She wracked her brains, trying to think of a way to come back. Nothing came to her, but she refused to admit to _him _that she was to blame. "You sure didn't look like you were only 'cooling off'. You looked like you were avoiding the conversation altogether. You're ignorance was the reason why I got riled up and blurted all that stuff!" Her eyes turned back towards his with a secret flame that burned within them. She wasn't going to give up this argument without a fight. Even if it didn't last long, she could at least try.

Zuko's eyes softened. She was mad at him for his past errors, and he had to be forgiving of her. "You're only making yourself look childish. It's not flattering. I know you're more mature than this. I know you don't like me, and I know I bring out parts of you that you hate... but... I'm trying, okay? I'm really trying to not fight with you! I don't want to fight! You're a nice person!" The prince was looking right at her with complete sincerity as he spoke. "And I wasn't meaning to shut Sokka up when I looked at him.. I guess it must've been my face. But to be honest, when he assumed I needed space it only made me angrier so I decided to cool off for a few minutes. I didn't want to blow up and say anything stupid or make a scene in town."

Katara found her eyes wandering off to the side again and she couldn't bring herself to look him back in the eye. He really sounded sincere…but then…the same thing happened before. She sympathized with him, she tried to help him…and it ended in disaster. However, his words really got to her. Now she had no more ground to stand on for arguing. Her fighting spirit dimmed within her and she felt helpless once again. The two were plunged into a deep silence, broken by the steady "drip-drip" of water. She wanted to say something, but she didn't know what. Her mouth opened, and the sound of footsteps coming towards them caused her to stop and turn her gaze towards the corridor. Her heart sank. What now?

"Well hello there brother." Zuko's eyes widened in fear and anger. "Azula! What are you doing here?" "It's such a delightful surprise to run into you too. I heard all about your fight with your little girlfriend. I hope you two have made up. Please make yourselves at home, as this will be your home for the next week or so... Unless I decide your lives are too dangerous to spare." She looked at her nails. It didn't seem she cared for her older brother at all. "And don't hope for rescue. As we speak the distance grows between you and your new best friend the Avatar. He hasn't even realized you're gone yet." Zuko forced himself to look up at Azula, adjusting his body to do so. "We're moving?" Azula rolled her eyes. "Of course. Do you think I'd just leave you two as bait? The bloodbender is too powerful and you're too valuable to the Avatar's success... Wait a moment.." Azula stepped into the cell while holding something. "It's hard to find good help these days." She wrapped cloth around Zuko's hands, binding them so that they couldn't properly firebend, and fixing the chi points so that they pointed to eachother. Even if he did firebend, he'd only hurt himself. She then locked his feet to the cage. "It's a little uncomfortable I know, but you two leave me with no choice. Ta.." She locked the cage behind her and walked out, leaving them with silence once more.

Katara felt her heart stop as she heard Azula's voice, and when it started up again, it began pumping furiously, filling her with adrenaline. Unfortunately, she had no means of fighting back…she could only watch helplessly as Zuko was completely cut off from Firebending. When Azula left the two in silence, the Waterbender hung her head in despair, feeling the cold clasps of the chains on her wrists. She got them into this mess, and now it looked like there was no way of getting out. A tear began to roll down her face. She failed them…She failed Aang…and she failed Zuko…Because of her stupid temper, she got them trapped. She clenched her teeth painfully and fought to keep back the tears. "I'm such an idiot…" she whispered, her voice hoarse and low.

Zuko's heart was pounding as well, and all he could do was hold back and stuff down his fear. He noticed that Katara was beginning to cry. "No, you're not an idiot..." He watched her sympathetically from the awkward position he was left in. "Anger gets the best of everyone, but it doesn't make you an idiot. Don't worry, we'll get out of this somehow. I still have one ace up my sleeve."

Katara closed her eyes to blink away the tears and she tugged on her shackles. "What trick is that? You can't Firebend, I can't Waterbend, and Azula is on the same ship…" She sighed, "And the others don't even know we're gone…I sure hope you have something that'll actually give us a fighting chance. Because right now, our odds don't seem very high…"

Zuko looked around, obviously dissatisfied with something. He then wiggled, trying to pull himself up. He couldn't. Try as he might, he just looked like his was shaking his booty. "Katara, come closer to my face. I can't move."

Katara blinked, "Wh…what!" She saw that he was trying to do something…but what she wasn't sure. She slowly inched her way towards him and leaned down towards him, "What's going on?" she asked, blushing a bit from being so close to his face. 

Zuko smirked wickedly as if he had a pretty good secret. He blew unnaturally hot air (but nothing painful) on Katara's nose and raised his brow as if she was supposed to understand the hint. "It'll be alright. We'll figure something out. We'll get out of this together."

Katara jumped back and, in realization, nodded softly, "Yes…we will." She brought her attention to the dripping water, and then looked back at her chain. They might be able to pull something off…It was crazy…but it might work…

She first looked around to see where the water was leaking through. There was a crack in the ceiling, and it dripped down a few inches outside of their cage bars. She pressed her back against them and experimentally pressed her hands through. The water dripped right down the center…It _was_ going to work.

"Zuko…" she whispered as she turned her back to him and pressed her chained wrists towards his face. She hoped he got the picture. It might hurt…but it didn't matter. She had to get the use of her arms back, no matter what.

"Easy enough." Zuko's Firebending skills with his mouth were unbelievable. He managed to break her chains without harming her whatsoever. He watched as she broke free and took notice of the dripping water. What was she planning on doing next?

Katara went to the edge of the cage and cupped her hands beneath the dripping water. She watched as the droplets combined together over her hand in order to form a perfect sphere of water, about the size of an apple. She slowly brought it in, as if afraid she'd drop it and, brought it over towards Zuko. She went behind him and lashed the water carefully down at the chains binding his wrists, as well as the bandana tying them. She made sure that the razor-sharp edge didn't hit him, and then she lowered her hand and sent it towards the chains holding his feet to the cage. 

Zuko stood up. "Thank you Katara. Now let's get out of here." He pulled off the remaining pieces of shackle and stretched, feeling so stiff from his awkward position. Somehow he felt close to Katara in these last few moments, and he didn't want it to end. There was something about her that he just craved. She was so full of passion and she courageously fought for the people and the ideals she believed in. He wanted to get to know her better. He wanted to be her friend. And at that moment, he felt as though they were friends.

Katara shrugged, "No problem. You helped me out, so I returned the favor." She took the water and sliced a box-shaped cut through the bars. Before they would clatter on the ground noisily, she caused the water to wrap around them and had it gently set them on the ground, "Come on, let's go." She whispered before leading the way up the stairs. She stuck close to the wall to keep a look out. When she reached the top, her heart sank once more.

Zuko recognized this layout. It was starting to come back to him. His eyes widened as he stood besides Katara, looking out the window. "We're in an airship..." He placed his hand on his chin and tapped it with his finger. He then heard footsteps so he grabbed the waterbender's hand and pulled her off into the other direction. "We still need to keep moving. At least we're out of the cell now." He kept her very close to him so that he could whisper softly. It almost seemed as though he knew where they were headed until he hit a dead end. He again pulled Katara closer to him. "I remember overseeing this ship being built. I saw the blueprints but I've never personally been inside... Hopefully that won't matter too much.. There's emergency escape balloons somewhere on this ship... Don't lose hope yet."

Katara felt completely lost as Zuko pulled her through the airship. She thought they were on a REAL ship, she wanted to be by the water so they actually had a chance to escape! Why was everything turning out wrong? Zuko's words provided a little comfort…but not much. He didn't sound too confident about finding the escape balloons. And still…Azula was there as well…And with a limited supply of water, Katara would barely be able to fight. She stuck close to Zuko. If they got separated…they were dead meat.

The Fireprince let go of Katara's hand and turned around to face the dead end. He was looking for something. His golden eyes darted about, searching for something very specific. He then pulled out a vent gate that was on the low ceiling and looked into it. "It appears we can fit in here. If we travel by air vent we'll have a much better chance of not being found. It'll be safe. I'll help you inside." He picked Katara up gently and lifted her until she could reach the vent and helped her inside. He then climbed inside himself and replaced the vent behind him. "... It's cramped in here..." 

Zuko's large body barely fit and his head was forced to look at his hands due to the lack of room. He noticed that it seemed a bit less of a squeeze for Katara. Her arms were shorter. She was just shorter. Ironically not as short as Aang. _He could probably run around in here._ Zuko smiled for a quick moment at his inner joke. "Just pick a direction, I'm not sure where we are yet."

Katara gratefully accepted his help and she looked over her shoulder to see that Zuko was having quite a hard time fitting. Frowning, she looked up ahead and noticed the vent branched off two ways. "Alright…Come on..." She whispered. She felt completely lost in this place. They were going completely on guessing. She definitely didn't want to make the wrong choice. As she reached the intersection she went right, crawling as quietly as she can. When she turned the corner, a look of discouragement crossed her face as she realized the vent grew darker. She had to feel her way forward to make sure she didn't bump into the side walls. _Man…now I know how Toph must feel..._

"It's okay. Keep moving." Zuko spoke with gentle encouragement, masking the fear and uncertainty in his voice. He hated small and cramped places, and they always made him uncomfortable. As it grew darker an uncomfortable lump grew in his throat. He used his strong will and meditation to calm down. _At least I can breathe, even if I can't see. I can move around. It'll be over soon. This is safer than dealing with Azula._

Soon it was pitch black and Zuko found himself bumping into Katara somewhat frequently. "Keep moving; what're you stopping so much for? It's a vent. There's nothing in your way."

Katara glared back at him, though she knew he couldn't see, "Hey, I'm going as fast as I can. I'd rather not bump into the wall and give away where we're at." She pushed on, giving him an irritated kick toward the hand as he bumped into her again, "Stop being in such a rush. We'll get out of here soon. She felt ahead and noticed that the vent split once again. She gave a frustrated groan and took another right. There was no sense in changing direction. She didn't want to end back up where they started, "I wonder if they noticed we're gone yet…"

"I really don't think they can hear us up in here, but there's no way they haven't found out by now. We must be prepared for the worst scenario. And could you go any slower? You're like a sloth-slug. Pick up the pace or we'll be found." He really just wanted to get out of there. None of this situation was even remotely pleasing to him. The tone in his voice was still reassuringly calm, but he was bumping into her a little more than previously. "Get out of my way.."

Katara kicked back at him again, trying to push him back, "I CAN'T get out of your way! Stop being so stubborn and be patient! I'm going as fast as I can!" She did pick up her speed, but he was constantly bumping into her. She growled in frustration and streamed the little water she had with her so that it would circle around behind her to keep him from bumping into her. If he tried, he was going to get wet, "Seriously, what is your problem?"

Zuko was kicked in the head. "OW! You're not going as fast as you can! My old lady advisors are faster than you! Let me get in front!" He was then splashed with water. "Ugh! What'd you do that for? What's my problem! What's your problem! I'm going in front!" He began to try and climb over her, which surprisingly there almost seemed to be enough room for that to work out. Until he reached a certain point in climbing over her where the two bodies were wedged together.

"Augh! Get off me!" Katara yelled as Zuko tried crawling over her. She collapsed onto her face and noticed that Zuko was no longer moving, "What the HECK!" She squirmed left and right to try and move out from under him. However, it didn't work, and she glared up where she thought his face was, "Good going Zuko, you idiot! You better find a way to get out of this now before I decide to stick a spear of ice where you really don't want it to go!" She was obviously bluffing. Her hands were pinned down at her sides, "This is embarrassing…"

"I can't move! I'm stuck!" The prince pulled his arms out in front of him, somewhat freeing Katara's upper half, but their lower halves were still practically melded together. This was worse. Much worse. It was pitch black and now he couldn't move at all. His heart began racing and his breath became short, but his voice still only sounded irritated. "Try laying on your back. Your... um... lower half is wedging me." He was trying his best to remain calm, but Katara's irritation was only feeding his fire. It was really hard to remain calm without a calm person to be his backbone. He was able to feel calm and rational around his uncle and Aang, but around someone as fiery as himself this proved near impossible.

Katara's face was completely red from the situation. She tried pulling herself forward and painfully managed to twist herself around. When she landed on her back, Zuko's face was inches away from her and she gave him a glare that showed all of her embarrassment and anger in one small look. "You're dead when we get out of here." She was kidding, but there was still quite a bit of menace in her voice. She pressed her hands against the bottom of the vent and tried to push herself out from underneath him, "Stupid prince…couldn't wait to reach the end before…getting ahead of me."

Zuko wiggled and pulled again and again trying to get himself off of her. His legs were mashed and pinned, partially to her and partially to the narrow metal walls that encased them like a prison. With every pull came a grunt or a whimper and after several failed minutes he stopped, breathing harshly as if he were out of breath. He let his arms relax, causing his torso to fall against the waterbender's. "I'm stuck.. Can't you move?" He realized how close their faces were because he could feel her breath against his right ear. But his arms were tired from pulling, so he just hoped she wasn't too uncomfortable.

Katara groaned, "Are you even trying?" She struggled to get out as well, trying to twist her ankles to the sides so that she could try to maneuver them out from beneath him. She had very little luck though, her feet were unable to bypass Zuko's. She bit her lip and reached up, hoping to push against his shoulders to slide backwards, but her fingers met the scar on his face. Her hand drew back and she murmured, "Sorry…" Before finding her target. She pressed against his shoulders to try and get unstuck, "This is completely ridiculous!"

Zuko forced his torso off of Katara again once his arms regained their strength and began pushing backwards and pulling forwards again and again with not a budge of his trapped leg, which was losing feeling. His heart was thumping so hard he could hear it in his ears. What if he was really stuck in here until he died of dehydration? What if Katara didn't make it out? His family's honor would only be further dirtied by his utter failure. _I always fail._ And if they died here, his father would win the war. Try as he might, he couldn't seem to catch his breath. His movements became more and more desperate. He groaned loudly as he pulled and pushed, and then he felt himself finally budge, but it only pinned his leg more. A pain shot up the crushed leg and he yelped. "I'm trying to get us out! I'm sorry!"

Katara clenched her teeth as Zuko's attempts to get free became more and more desperate. Was he…scared? She hissed as a pain shot through her leg but she refused to cry out. "Zuko! Calm down! You're making matters worse! If we can't get out, we can try to break out of here and make a mad dash for it. We're not going to be trapped here!" Her voice was full of authority, and she rested her back down on the bottom and relaxed. She took a deep breath and opened her hand, causing the puddle of water behind them to slide between them into her hand. She pressed the ball of water against the wall and had it slide beneath her. She then used it to lessen the friction between her and the steel and slowly tried to edge her way out. She managed to move her un-pinned leg back a bit. That was progress…She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had to stay clear-headed. Zuko was freaking out. This wasn't going to be easy.

"I'm calm! I'm FINE!" His words spoke one thing, but it was between breaths and yelled out. "I'm trying to get us out! I'm trying!" It was almost as if he couldn't hear Katara's reassuring words at all. He yanked himself again, but every yank hurt now with his numbed and caught leg in the position he'd recently gotten it into. "Why do I always screw things up! Why! I'm a failure! I keep trying and trying but nothing ever goes right!"

Katara clenched her fist and pressed it against Zuko's chest, "Listen! Stop yelling and control yourself. You're not helping anything at all by your struggling. "I'm not going to hear any of this self-pity! We're getting out of here! I haven't come this far only to give up now!" Her face was set with determination and she sent the water beneath her towards the top of the vent wall where Zuko's leg was pinned. She sharpened the top of the water and started to move her hand in a square-like motion, allowing the thin stream to do the same. She intended to cut a deep enough hole in the top of the vent to unpin his legs. The water cut through the solid wall above it, and sweat began running down her brow as she concentrated on deepening the cuts. When a perfect rectangle was formed, she angled the water inward in order to finish slicing out a large chunk of metal and had the stream move it out of the way, "Try moving now."

The fireprince replied with a humbled sheepish tone, as if he were ashamed of himself. "Okay..." He couldn't move the numb leg, but the other one was able to back his body off of her. Where he could feel his leg it was very painful. He must've pulled it in his uncontrolled state. He laid himself down, still gasping for breath. "We're free...:"

Katara sighed in relief as she felt the pressure come off of her. She slowly got herself up to a sitting position and nodded softly, even though he probably couldn't see it, "Did you hurt your leg? I can help you with that." The water collected back over her hand. "We're free…but we still need to get out of this air ship. And hope that we haven't made too much noise…I don't want to run into a Fire Nation soldier when I climb out of this thing."

Zuko forced himself to sit up. His leg was finally gaining the ability to move again, but it still hurt from being pulled wrong. The only other noise than his shuffling was his breathing. He didn't speak a word. The breaths were starting to die down in intensity. "..." He sighed and continued to breathe.

Katara heard him sit up and reached out towards him. She could feel the chi-points in his wounded leg and she circled her arm around them, relaxing the muscles in order to keep away the pain, "Alright…we should get going now. I'll speed up so you don't have to worry about being in this cramped space for any longer." She smirked knowingly, despite the darkness, and continued moving forward, having the water circle around her wrist for future use. She listened to make sure he was following, and noticed that a few lights were shining in from beyond. They were almost out of the ventilation shaft. When she reached the area, she looked out to make sure no one was around and she slowly pushed the vent out. Dodging behind the wall nearby, she stretched her legs and looked down into the shaft, "It's clear over here, Zuko." She whispered, "I need your help finding the way out."

Zuko followed Katara as a silent companion. It took him a few moments to get out of the ventilation shaft. He travelled to Katara's side with silent grace, a troubled look on his face.

Looking around, the prince still had no idea where they were. They'd managed to put some distance and perhaps a different floor level between themselves and the cell, but that's all he was certain of. In the dim (but infinitely brighter) lighting, it was apparent that he was trembling slightly.

Katara looked around, her eyes adjusting to the light after being in the dark for so long. She peeked around another corner, noticing that it was a hallway, and took a quick look to make sure no one was coming. She turned to Zuko, ready to grab his wrist and start running across, but she noticed that he was shaking. So the shaft really did frighten him…She never saw this side of Zuko before. Confused and a bit worried, she took a hold of his arm and began pulling him towards the hall. She looked left and right to make sure they wouldn't be spotted and she took note of all the pipes and cables that ran along the sides of the walls. As she looked around the next corner, she heard a siren blare and she gasped before covering her ears. Now everyone on the ship knew they escaped. She groaned, could things get any worse?

The noise of the siren seemed to snap Zuko out of his distracted state. His eyes narrowed and he looked around, taking control of their direction. "We have more time than I thought. Let's make use of it. Right now I believe we're in a back room of a higher floor. We need to get to the bottom floor... So we're going to go this way." It seemed as though he was starting to recognize the layout as he took her down a few turns and through a door. The door led to a tight and cramped stairway which he descended quickly, still holding her hand.

Katara allowed him to pull her along. He knew more about the area then she did. She noticed his quickened pace as they traveled down the stairs. It was strange…How could something as small as that spook the Fire Prince? It just didn't make any sense to her. She didn't have time to think on it though. She had to keep her feet moving in order to keep up with him. She had a nagging sensation in the back of her mind. She almost stopped in her tracks, but forced herself to keep moving. Something wasn't right…Wouldn't they have discovered their absence earlier? Why would they sound the sirens now?

Zuko made it to the bottom floor and ran full speed as though he knew exactly where he was headed. All signs of his previous trembling were gone and replaced by sheer tenacity. He came to a giant room with no doors, and there they were. The air balloons. He continued running full force until something stopped him short. Azula had jumped right in their tracks. 

"I thought I told you to behave otherwise I'd have to kill you Zuzu." By her side were some familiar old friends. The fugitives were surrounded and outnumbered.

Katara looked around, clenching her fists angrily. She should've known this was going to happen…She looked at the meager supply of water she had. This wasn't good…they fell right into a trap.

However, she stood her ground and stayed by Zuko's side, enlargening the amount of water she had somewhat by using some liquid from the air. "What are our chances of winning if we fight?" she whispered.

"Not good. We need to get to those air balloons before Azula tries to separate us." Zuko glared at Azula. She got into a fighting stance. "I won't go easy on you this time. This time, I'm incapacitating both of you. Mai, Ty-Lee. Let's begin."

Mai got into a fighting stance and watched her boyfriend for any moves. He suddenly made one, holding Katara's hand he ran past a stunned Azula for the air balloons. _What? He's not going to fight me? He's gotten a little smarter._ Mai threw shuriken at them, but they were too fast. They were halfway there.

Katara followed along quickly so that he didn't have to drag her over. She saw the balloons coming fast, and she turned around to see how much time they had. The others were gaining on them, but they were almost there. She quickly threw the stream of water towards the ground and froze it to try and make their attackers slip. Then, twisting around to run forward again, she gasped as a flash of pink caught her eyes.

Ty-Lee had leapt down from one of the bracers in the ceiling and landed in front of the two. She immediately lashed her fists out towards Zuko, aiming for his arms and legs. She wasn't going to disappoint Azula this time.

Zuko immediately jumped back, dodging Ty-Lee's attack. Azula slipped on the ice and almost fell, while Mai actually did fall over and slid, struggling to get some footing. The fireprince ran around Ty-Lee, making sure Katara was following close behind. There was a switch to open the hatch somewhere, and once he found that they'd have a chance. He soon spotted the switch and began heading for it.

Katara darted around Ty-Lee and quickly high-tailed it towards the Fire Prince. She heard the effects of her ice, and she felt sweat running down her brow. She quickly wiped the back of her hand across her forehead and sent smaller patches of ice on the floor behind her. They were going to make it! She ran faster, knowing that freedom was only a few yards away. "Zuko! We're almost there!" She cried out, more for herself then for him. Her confidence had to remain up or she'd lose hope.

Zuko reached the switch and pulled it, causing the huge hatch to swing open. They were exposed to the fresh cold high altitude air, and freedom was only a few feet away. "Come on Katara, let's start up one of those balloons!" He ran towards the balloon and hopped inside.

Azula noticed the stray shuriken that had been thrown at Zuko and picked it up.

Once Katara had gotten inside Zuko had already powered the air balloon. When it rose it began leaving the airship. "We've done it! We actually made it out!"

But as soon as he had spoken the air balloon began to lose altitude, and fast. They were falling into the ocean far below them at an alarming rate.

Katara felt like shouting out for joy, but a sick plummeting sensation took over and she grasped tightly to the sides. However, she knew they would both die if she didn't do anything, so she shakily got to her feet and stretched her hands out towards the sides. Her arms shook uncontrollably as she directed a huge pillar of water from the ocean towards the bottom of the hot air balloon. The balloon landed with a very dull splash on the pillar and she lowered them towards the top of the ocean, keeping the balloon afloat as well as she could. She never had used such a vast amount of water unless she was filled with the moon's power. Her legs threatened to give way beneath her, but she had to keep her arms moving to keep the basket afloat.

Zuko yelled out in fear until they had been caught by the ocean. But then the ocean wasn't acting very normal at all. It was volatile from Katara's huge displacement of water, and even though she was controlling as much of it as she could, he could tell she was losing large amounts of water at a time. The small basket was threatening to fall over and it was all Zuko could do just to hold on. But gravity had a way of being heard. When a backlash wave crashed into Katara's wave and turned the basket upside-down, Zuko's body obliged and fell into the water. He lost track of Katara in the deep black sea. He also lost track of the direction up. He was being pulled around by an insistent huge wave anyway, so he didn't have much say in where he swam. This situation reminded him of what it looked like when a drip of water fell into a tub of water. On a much bigger scale of course.

Katara gasped as the balloon tipped, and she fell painfully against the wall before crashing into the violent waters. She tried to throw an air bubble around herself, but the water was throwing her left and right, and she couldn't make the proper motions of her hands. When she snapped her eyes open, she couldn't see Zuko anywhere. Fear filled her, for herself and the prince, and she threw her arms against a current that pressed against her, sending the water outward so she could have a more peaceful area of water to swim in for a short time. Bubbles issued from her mouth as she let out a little air. She quickly slapped her hands together and a bubble of air formed around her. Unfortunately, she couldn't stay in there, the currents came back at full force and water filled up the air pocket within seconds of her forming it. She quickly took a gasp of air before she was surrounded in water again, and she swam and bent the water at the same time, feeling the heaviness of her wet clothing drag her down. She spotted a dark figure below her, and with a strong kick of her legs, she swam down and grabbed onto Zuko's wrist.

Zuko watched the darkness around him as a sublime terror slowly crept over his body. It was different than the fear that he'd encountered previously. This terror paralyzed him. He didn't know where he was or what was going to happen to him, and his body was unable to swim anywhere. After the terror came a calm sensation. He felt as though nothing were wrong. He was at peace. _I wonder how my uncle is doing right now._ A picture of his uncle appeared before him. He was running the Jasmine Dragon with a smile of pure delight on his face. This image soothed the teen's soul. He soon joined him in the tea making, which had never felt so good before in his lifetime then it did at that moment. 

The great dragon of the west grabbed his nephew's wrist rather violently. "Zuko; what are you doing here? You need to leave." Iroh's nephew frowned down at him. "What do you mean? I'm helping you run the tea shop." Iroh almost seemed angry. "Get out! You need to see what's going on! You need to wake up!" Zuko frowned. "Wake up? What do you mean? I don't understand that proverb uncle." Iroh shook his head. "Wake up. You need to wake up."

Katara waved her arm around and a coil-like current surrounded them both. Her breath was running short, and they were farther from the surface then she would have hoped. Clutching tighter to Zuko's arm, she jerked her free hand upwards towards the sky, feeling the current push her and the Prince upwards towards the surface. The wild waters pushed brutally against her own stream. The water was getting brighter, they were almost at the top…She gave one final push of her arm and they shot up through the water. She coughed and sputtered as the waves continuously crashed over her, threatening to push her back below the ocean. She pulled Zuko up to the surface and wrapped her arm around his waist in order to keep from losing him. As another gigantic wave curled over them, she threw her arm upward and struck her palm against it as it landed. The water exploded both ways, keeping them from being hit. As she continued to block the violent water, she desperately searched for a piece of land, anything, that they could land on. She didn't know how much longer she could hold on.

The basket had broken into floating pieces, all drifting further and further away from each other. One was nearby Katara distance wise, but to swim to it was going to prove difficult. Especially considering the alarming fact that the fire prince was nothing but dead weight. Those intense waves were attempting to rip them apart.

To make matters worse, or perhaps better, Azula showed up on a small boat with her friends with a look of fierce determination on her face. She kept the boat at a distance from the extreme waves and began to shoot blue fire at Katara. Her brother appeared to have drowned. This was a perfect moment to defeat them. She only had to make Katara let go, and her brother would be done for. A small part of her didn't want this to happen. A small part of her wanted to just let them go. She partially hoped Mai would betray her to save her love. But she didn't want to come to her father with news of failure. If it were Mai's fault, then it could be okay.

Mai stood beside Azula, utterly silent. She didn't appear to care that the crowned prince of the fire nation had drowned. She didn't appear to care about the amazing display of waterbending Katara had shown. She was useless. She would never betray Azula outright. Azula continued her onslaught completely uninterrupted.

Katara pushed against the water, holding Zuko in a vice-grip to assure herself that he wasn't going to fall back into the watery depths. He wasn't moving…and she certainly couldn't tell if he was breathing. As she struggled to swim forward, a blast of blue fire struck the water a few inches in front of her. A gasp escaped from her lips and she turned her head to see Azula and her two friends on a boat nearby. Azula was rapidly shooting fireballs from her fists towards her. Her arms were growing sore, but she quickly lashed her free arm forward, sending blasts of water towards the flames that came at her. She had to move quicker then usual. Having only one arm was tough when the opponent was sending a barrage of fire at her. The thought of letting go of Zuko went through her mind for a brief second, but she dispelled it as soon as she could. He was their only chance…And Azula knew it.

The Waterbender felt herself drawing farther away from the basket, and she kicked her legs to propel herself forwards while she shot continuous streams of water towards the flames that came at her. Her arms and legs were sore and tired, but she fought on, refusing to give up and refusing to give up Zuko. She was going to either fight or die trying, there were no other alternatives. With a forceful push of her left hand, she sent an intense blast of water towards the ship Azula was on, hoping to throw them off course so she could concentrate on reaching the basket. Once she got onto some solid ground…things would be easier.

Azula felt the cool splash of water as her boat tipped over and noticed that her comrades had also fallen in. They were in dangerous territory now. The waterbender could tear them to shreads where they swam. They weren't very close to the boat, but Azula wouldn't give up anyway. She attempted to swim for the boat, knowing full well that it could become Katara's escape. Zuko appeared as though he'd already died, which made her even more desperate to stop Katara. If he was dead, she wanted him to have a companion in his watery grave. She wasn't sure why she was getting so irrational.

Mai just kept herself above water, not fighting either way. She knew Katara could save Zuko and that if she tried to stop her it still wouldn't mean anything. She just quietly hoped he was alright. She hoped that someday they could spend time together again and not worry about war.

Katara saw the tipped boat, and she realized that all hope wasn't lost. She saw Azula swimming towards it and she blew out a blast of cold air from her lungs and pushed it forward with her free hand, freezing a small wall between the Fire Princess and the vessel. She noticed another wave coming up above her and she directed half of it behind her with her hands. As it crashed down, she regained some footing on it so that it would propel her towards the boat. Other waves tried crashing into hers, but she threw her arm left and right to divert them so they would curl and crash over the opposite way. Her grip was slipping on Zuko, so she quickly pulled him up a bit further. As she did so, she felt his hand brush against her arm. It was freezing cold…

"No…You're going to be okay!" She yelled before turning her attention towards Azula and her friends. Ty-Lee and Mai were just resting in the water, not trying to reach the boat, but Azula was determined to reach it. The Waterbender made a scooping motion with her hand on the wave she rode on and sent a sliver of water slicing towards her. Their only chance was the boat. Then she would be able to get out and heal the Prince.

Azula used the ice wall to be a steady ground. She sliced it with her firebending and sat on it. She began shooting at Katara rapid motion again, with more passion than before. She really wanted Katara to just drown already so that she could move on with her life. There wasn't much else she could really do. She could destroy the boat, leaving them all vulnerable to the sea. Even a waterbender eventually sinks. She aimed for the boat, her eyes narrowing. But something inside of her screamed for her not to do it. An inward struggle ensued, her body just aiming for the boat.

Katara leapt down from the wave as the fireballs came at her. She was only a few yards away from the boat, and the water was much calmer here. She blocked the rest of the attacks that came towards her and her eyes widened in shock as Azula aimed for the boat. Her desperation grew and she sent a powerful current at her back, pushing herself forward towards the vessel. When she drew near enough to it, she lifted her arm up and formed a tidal wave between Azula and the boat. She then spread her fingers apart, causing the wave to split into two, one going for Azula, and the other went beneath the boat and lifted it over, tipping it back up to its regular position. Summoning another wave beneath her, she used it to throw herself onto the ship and she sprawled onto the solid ground. Releasing Zuko so she could use both hands, she quickly got up to her feet and stretched her arms out, forming two large streams of water on both sides of the ship. She threw her right arm forward, sending one towards Azula, and threw the other one towards the back of the ship, jettisoning it forward to cover some distance between her and the enemy. As the boat moved, she continuously sent waves of water towards the Fire Princess.

Azula's chance for victory passed and she knew it. Had she gone soft for her weak brother? She had no time to think of such things. Her life grew endangered as each wave caused her to struggle just to keep afloat. She felt herself fall deep into the water for one of the later waves and began to swim back up with mild desperation. She finally popped back up beside MaI and Ty-Lee, sputtering and coughing. "We lost again..." Mai watched Azula as she coughed, secretly happy that perhaps Zuko would be saved. He didn't perish so easily.

Zuko's body was limp and cold, but contained a slow and steady heartbeat. His chest didn't rise for air and his body had become pale. His hair matted to his face, covering his eyes.

Katara made sure she was a safe distance away from Azula and she knelt at Zuko's sides, panting heavily from that close call. She pressed her fingers to his neck, feeling the very faint heartbeat. At least he was still alive…if barely. Her hand hovered above his chest, and she felt the water that was stuck in his lungs. She streamed it out of his mouth and cast it into the ocean. She gave another burst of speed to the boat and had it coast while she looked down at the Prince. Seeing him in this shape made her feel terrible. She almost lost him...Because of her stupid pride and temper, she nearly lost the one chance they had against the Fire Lord. Throughout the past few days, she actually began to get used to having him around. What would she have done if he was dead? Would she have given up as well? She frowned and lowered her head, taking in a deep breath. Her heart was pumping wildly from the escape. She never wanted to relive that experience again. She looked down at Zuko with a complete look of concern. Yes…she was worried about him. It was strange…but she was.

The half dead prince kept still, not breathing for several moments until he coughed weakly. His breathing became steady, but he was still unconscious for a bit of time as the oxygen slowly revived him.

The color returned to his face and his eyes fluttered open, not that one really could see them due to his hair being in the way. He looked around tiredly, his world was dark and hazy and his eyes were glazed over. He groaned and forced himself to turn over, coughing. He spit up a large quantity of seawater, pushing his hair out of his face. He coughed for a while longer and wiped his mouth, laying down again. "Ugh..." 

His uncle was gone again and he was forced into the harshness of reality. It was once he came to terms with this fact that he noticed Katara and his eyes focused on hers. She was concerned for him, and it touched his exhausted heart. "Sorry... about that... I didn't mean to throw up... I mean... um..." Yeah, that's not what he meant to say. "... er... what happened... did I...? You saved me... Thanks..."

His body felt so stiff and cold. He'd never felt such an intrusive cold before. It was as if the cold was accessing even his bones. He started shivering and instinctively using his life force to warm himself. Katara had saved him from drowning, and now he owed her his life. He felt a great debt, and he was ashamed and afraid he wouldn't be able to repay her great kindness. (Completely forgetting that she's the reason they got into this mess in the first place. Ah, naivety.)

Katara watched as Zuko awoke and began coughing out some more seawater. She wanted to reach out and pat his back to help, but her arms refused to move. They were heavy and weak, and she was exhausted. "Yeah…it was…no big deal. I figured you might've…done the same for me." Her breathing came a bit calmer now, her heart ceased it's furious pounding and returned to it's normal pulse. "You need to rest, Zuko." She looked up and, smiling, added, "We're near a small island. It's tiny…but it'll be better then resting in this boat." She forced herself to stand up and moved the water beneath the boat, making it move faster then it would have if she turned the motor on. She needed a nice place to lie down and take a breather. As she gazed behind her, she noticed that the sun was beginning to sink over the ocean. So they were gone for an entire day…Aang and the others must be really worried…

When the boat landed on the sandy shore, Katara placed her hand on her stomach, which was growling louder then it had ever done before. As the boat pressed further onto the beach, she knelt by Zuko and helped him up, supporting him as well as she could. "Listen, if we're going to build a fire, we need to go somewhere in the woods up ahead." She motioned to a clump of trees with her free hand, "The last thing we need is that balloon to circle around and find us."

The prince gladly took the assistance, looking at the forest up ahead. "We need to hide the boat as well, otherwise Azula will know we're here. We should camouflage it if at all possible.. Are you unhurt?" He wiped his dripping nose with his free hand, analyzing the island.

Katara looked at the boat and gave a small nod, "I'll take care of it as soon as possible…And I'm fine…I'm just a bit sore from the battle, but fortunately for us, she attacked us in the middle of my element. Although, it was kind of hard toting you around while fighting and escaping at the same time." 

As they walked into the forest, she was glad to notice that there was a small cave within the center. The trees towered above, hiding them from view from the sky. Her steps seemed to quicken as she walked towards the cave. The sooner she hid the boat and found something to eat, the better.

The inside of the cave was wide and dark, like most caves. Katara helped Zuko take a seat and then looked around. It looked like it would have to do until they could find out where they were and how far they were from the rest of the Gaang. 

"Zuko…I'm going to take care of a few things. Stay here…and stay warm until I can get some firewood. You need to take it easy and get your strength back up." She didn't try to hide the concern in her voice.

Zuko gave a nod and coughed while covering his mouth. He then wiped his dripping nose again. Everything tasted like salt. His breath, his cough, his phlem, his lips. It made him feel disgusting. His hair was matting together as if he were some sort of wild man. Worst of all, his body couldn't seem to get warm. He was shivering deeply.

Drawing energy from the setting sun he used his breath of fire to warm his hands, but it didn't seem to help. He pondered about how amazing Katara's fight with Azula must've been. If only he'd been awake to see it. Since she was holding him above water she literally fought Azula and won with just one hand.

A small thought occurred._ Maybe Azula threw the fight to save me_. He then chuckled morbidly out loud. "Yeah right."

Katara hesitated while leaving Zuko on his own. He looked so frail and weak now…it just didn't seem right for her to just leave. But she knew she had no choice. Quickly, she went to take care of the first thing on her list. She arrived at the shoreline and noticed that there were quite a few bushes nearby. She formed a crib of water beneath the boat and painstakingly forced the stream to bring the vessel over to them. Then, lowering her hands at her sides, she went over to the boat and began pulling the brush over it. Within a few minutes, the boat was completely covered, and she quickly set to work collecting firewood.

Luckily, there were plenty of fallen trees from ocean storms lying around on the island. She sliced them up into small enough pieces that she could gather easily and she quickly ran to set them outside of the cave. Before she went in, she ran back towards the ocean and pressed her hand against the water. She could feel a large fish out a few yards in the ocean, and she formed a bubble around it before causing it to hover behind her. Her hand circled in lazy motions to keep it above land. When she reached the cave, she grabbed the firewood in her free arm and went inside, giving a large exhausted sigh as she entered, "Wow…when we get out of here, the first thing I'm going to do is make Sokka, Toph, and Aang do most of the work. That was tiring!"

Zuko laid down in the sunlight, attempting to dry himself off as best as he could and warm up. He didn't really want to go into that cave. It was dark and.. a little chilly. Probably just because he was cold. Once they got a fire going he'd be okay with going inside of the cave. Once he noticed that Katara was setting up inside of the cave he forced himself up and began arranging the firewood properly. He wouldn't take no for an answer as she'd already done most of the work. "Hm.." He offered a small smile in response to her comment. His whole body was still shaking, but he continued on living like he hadn't almost died.

The fire was started with a simple point and firebend movement, and it burned strongly. "Ew... cave hoppers..." Zuko flicked a small white bug away from the camp and sat down nearby the fire. The fire that usually would give him soothing warmth wasn't doing much for him. His body continued to shiver. "Wh-why can't I get warm?"

Katara sat down next to him and gazed at the fire. She noticed he was still shivering, and his comment caused her to worry even more, "I don't know…I've never nearly almost drowned before…" She had warmed up when she was running around, it must've been side effects from his near-death experience.

"I don't have any bright ideas on how to warm you up…I'm sure water doesn't help with that kind of thing."

"I'm still wet.. Maybe if you could waterbend the water off of me.. " Zuko's voice was weak. His golden eyes glanced at her as he spoke. ".. I'll warm up really soon and then I can cook us dinner..." He placed his hands together and rubbed them fiercely. This sort of cold was hard to get rid of. He had a stupid idea, but he decided to keep it to himself.

Katara nodded and held her hand out towards him. Then, drawing it back, she withdrew the water that was still on him and sent it flying out the cave entrance. "You don't have to worry about dinner…I'll take care of it." She walked over towards the fish and stopped as she realized something, "Well…we'll have to cook this thing the old fashioned way…we don't have any utensils…At least I can gut it with waterbending." She reached down at her waist instinctively to draw water from her waterskin, but she realized it wasn't there. The guards must've taken it when she was put in prison. Sighing, she went outside and drew some water from a nearby patch of grass. She then formed it into a knife-like shard of ice and began cleaning the fish.

The prince quietly sat in front of the fire, still shivering. The removal of water didn't seem to help him at all, but he had thanked her and pretended he felt better. He softly agreed to letting her cook dinner, curling up into fetal postion. He was thinking very deeply for several minutes before he spoke. "I wonder how the others are doing right now. I hope they're okay." There was complete sincerity in his voice. It was the same quality of sincerity as if Sokka or Toph or Aang had said it. He took a deep shuddering sigh and the fire shuddered with him.

Katara frowned and watched as he continued to shiver. She heard his words, and sensed the truth in them, "Yeah…I really hope they're alright too…I feel terrible. Sokka and I just had a talk and we vowed that we'd never be separated. It looks like I messed that up big time. He's probably worried sick about m…us." Zuko was part of their team…they must have been worried about them both now. "I sure hope we find them soon..." She scraped the last of the scales off of the fish and melted her ice knife before washing the meat and the floor. She then grabbed a spear-like stick and impaled the fish on it before holding it over the fire, leaning her elbow upon it to keep it steady.

"Maybe after some food you'll feel a bit better." She said with an uncertain smile.

"I'm alright," the prince spoke with a lot less security. It wasn't convincing at all. He was such a terrible liar. He'd make a terrible politician. It's a good thing he was born into his position.

He wished he had his blanket. As the sun left and evening settled in, he wished more and more for his blanket. The air around him wasn't warming him anymore. _Perhaps a cup of hot tea would help. I wonder if Katara is better at finding plants for tea than my uncle._ "If it wouldn't bother you too much.. um.. I'd like something warm to drink." 

Again the stupid idea appeared in his head but he pushed it out. It just wasn't a good idea for emotional reasons. Aang really loved that girl, and he wasn't going to jeopardize his trust. Especially considering how Aang suspected him the day before of peeping on her.

Katara frowned at his lie. "You're obviously not all right…you're still shaking. I'll get you something warm to drink, just wait a second." She froze the bottom of the stick to keep it standing and went outside. She looked around, searching for a plant to make good tea and she noticed a few tea-worthy plants not too far away. Kneeling by them, she drew the water out from their leaves and stems slowly, allowing the water to absorb the flavor and nutrients within them as she did so. The waterbender then got back up to her feet, and went back into the cave, holding the water above her hand. She then held it near the fire, to warm it up a bit, and bit her lip, hoping it would be good enough. He already disliked some of her cooking, what if he disliked her make-shift tea as well? Well, he asked for it, the least he could do was to try it. She sent the ball floating towards his mouth and murmured, "Go ahead, I won't splash you with it or anything."

Zuko made this face of shock with a hint of indignation, though he wasn't sure why he felt insulted. Probably because his uncle would see this as pure blasphemy. "What are you -doing-?" He tried the make-shift tea anyway, and it was really strong. He winced from its strength. ".. Water.. water.. add some more water to that.." He coughed, sputtering a bit. "It really needs some more water.."

Katara snapped, "Well how was I supposed to know!" She pulled it back and huffed, "It's not like I have the proper tools to make real tea!" Stomping outside, she drew some pure water from the grass and added it to the tea. Then, going back inside, she heated it up again and pushed it more forcefully to his mouth, "If you don't like it, you can make your own! I'm trying my best with what I have!"

Zuko looked away with a glare when Katara snapped at him. He then watched as she fixed the tea and once she reminded him of the fact that they didn't have any way to actually make tea, his eyes widened slightly in realization. He sipped the tea, and it was a lot better. Still a little odd, drinking it out of the air like that. He was hoping the tea would calm his stomach so that he could eat the fish that was cooking. He finished the tea quickly and pointed to the fish as a quiet and subtle reminder. "Thank you, I feel warmer." He didn't feel too much warmer, but what else was he going to say after she went through all of that effort for him? He'd stupidly requested something that if she weren't a waterbender, would have been impossible. He held back a shiver as the wind blew into the cave.

Katara watched as he drank it and looked over towards the fish. She quickly went over to it and rotated the stick so the other side would get cooked as well. "No problem…" She felt a bit bad for snapping at him. It was almost like an automatic reaction for her. He complains, she argues. It was a vicious cycle, one that she wished she could overcome. When the fish was done cooking, she took it down and formed the ice holding the stick into two dishes. Then, splitting the two halves of the fish with a slice of water from outside, she passed one half on the plate to Zuko and took the other half herself. She felt the cold wind and she sat between Zuko and the cave door, allowing it to hit her back instead, "Sorry…I'm not the greatest at making forks and spoons, so we'll have to eat with our hands. I know it's not proper but…well, we really have no choice." She delicately tore a piece off and placed it in her mouth, enjoying the flavor before having it slide down into her empty stomach.

Zuko's mouth gaped a bit as he was handed the iceplate. The fish alone was melting the iceplate. As if that weren't bad enough, his fingers from growing cold decided to instinctively warm up the air around them some more, and within moments the iceplate was completely melted on his lap. He watched with a wide eye and then looked at Katara, innocently still gaping about the whole thing. "Well.. then... let's eat..." He used his lap as a plate instead, nibbling at the fish. He was forcing himself to eat even though every bite just made him want to throw up. He was still full of seawater probably. Katara was watching him as he ate, which made him force it more. "Mmm.. This is.. really good... it's.. tender." It was really good. Any other night this would be a delightful meal considering he wasn't being served by a team of professional chefs.

Katara blinked innocently as the plate melted on his lap. She then chuckled softly at the look he gave her and ate a bit more of her fish. Luckily, she didn't have that problem. She noticed that he looked like he was having a hard time swallowing. She frowned. Maybe fish wasn't the best idea for a meal…but they hadn't eaten for a whole day, she had to make something…She picked at the last bit of fish and finished it off before she brought in some water to wash her hands in. She then offered the water to Zuko when he was finished, "This has to be one of the strangest meals I ever had." She gave a small smile, "It certainly is…interesting."

While she had the wash water hover in front of him, she used her other hand to pull the water away from his lap.

The prince awkwardly plunged his hands into the water she was bending and rinsed them off. "Waterbending sure comes in handy.. You're very talented..." He coughed, forcing another swallow to keep his food down. The last thing he needed was to insult Katara by throwing up what he'd been given.

After several silent moments he looked as though he debated over something. It took several more moments before he spoke, eyeing Katara worriedly. "Are you cold...?" He had no idea what temperature it actually was, but he was still freezing even though it was the middle of summer near the equator.

Katara blushed at his first comment, "Thanks…" A small silence followed and his concerned comment caused her to look up, "Cold?" She was now conscious of the wind blowing on her back and she rubbed her arms, "A little, but I'm used to it. The weather used to get a lot worse it the South Pole. Sometimes we had to huddle close together to stay warm. Sometimes the fire wasn't enough…" She trailed off. It was like their situation now, and the color deepened on her face.

Zuko's eyes widened. "Oh.. Is that so..?"

"..." He looked as though he were a cat caught in a mail delivery chute of Omashu. "Uhhh..." His voice cracked. He placed his arms around himself and shivered.

_What would uncle do in this situation? Err.. what would he want me to do in this situation?_

"Yes. Let's cuddle! And while we're at it, I'm going to flirt with you. And marry you. And have a lot of children." Zuko stopped right there in his little head scenario. No, that wouldn't do at all.

_What would Azula do?_

"Let's huddle together for warmth. It's better than being cold, and it doesn't mean anything anyway since we're both female." _Well, that doesn't work either._

He really had to start thinking more for himself. His impersonations weren't getting any better. "Urrhh uuh... Wow... that dinner sure was... tasty... And.. you um... you've got seaweed in your hair." He blurted that out, regretting it as soon as it came out of his mouth. What a dignified thing to say to a young woman. _I'm so smooth._

Katara watched curiously as Zuko lapsed into a thoughtful silence. The red color left her face, and she was about to break the silence when Zuko made his comment. She instinctively reached up and brushed her fingers through her hair, "Er…Thanks…I guess…" She brushed out the strand of seaweed and wrapped her arms around her legs, "Well, got any bright ideas on how to make it warmer in here?"

Zuko began stuttering without really saying anything. He was then silent again. "... Um... well... we could... make another.. fire... or... do as you suggested... um.. with.. the um... sharing body heat for wa-" he coughed. "Warmth. Or.. um... you know... anything..." He looked away as though he didn't care then looked at Katara for her reaction. _This is wrong. We shouldn't do this. What if Aang finds out and thinks about it the wrong way?_ Some part of the back of his head was nagging him, but the rest of his head was thinking otherwise. _So cold.. so cold... Body heat sounds good. Firebending's not really working because I'm too exhausted._

Katara felt the blood rush to her face once again as he said that. She saw him shivering…and then looked at the fire. It wasn't doing any good…and another fire wasn't going to help much either. She looked down at the ground, contemplating. Zuko could get sick…and then where would they be? Stuck in a cave with no hope of rescue or escape. Yet at the same time, she thought of Aang. How would he think? Would he be angry, or would he know that it was essential in order to keep them both alive. It was wrong…yet it was right…She frowned and looked at him again. He looked so weak and helpless shivering. Her motherly side forced her to get to her feet and walk next to him. She then sat by Zuko, wondering what in the world was compelling her to do so, and wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

The weakened shivering prince seemed to go through a multitude of emotions. He was obviously feeling some of the same ones as Katara. As much as he hated to admit it, he was really glad to feel her arm around his shoulder. He silently hugged her without looking at her, trying not to think about what it usually meant for him when he hugged someone. There were only three other people people in this world that he hugged. His mother, his uncle, and his girlfriend. And yet here Katara was, in his arms. 

At least this was substantially warming his body. His shivering was still apparent, but as the minutes passed it declined. His hands were surprisingly warm, even though he seemed so cold. His whole body was pretty warm. It couldn't have been his body temperature alone that was making him so cold. Just his aura was very warm and soothing.

Katara felt him return the embrace, but she didn't pull away. She could feel his body temperature rise and her eyes widened. It was working…She felt herself warming up as well, and the wind that came in didn't bother her as much. The warmth caused her to become a bit drowsy, and she felt her eyelids growing heavier and heavier. Her head lowered and landed on his shoulder. Her breathing became more relaxed and even. She was fast asleep.

Zuko's eyes widened when he noticed she'd fallen asleep on him. _She's really adorable when she sleeps. Prettier than when she was glaring at me. There's a foreign sort of beauty to her. Dark skin, wavy brown hair. Very pretty... Wait, what am I saying? I'm treading in dangerous waters if I'm thinking she's pretty. Even if it's true. -I mean- It's just Katara. I'm just sleepy._ He was sleepy, but probably also just nervous because he wasn't used to touching a girl he didn't know that well. Especially one that the Avatar had his eyes on. Whatever the reason was, he was very nervous not to think the wrong thing, which made him think the wrong thing.

After he got over this initial nervousness, he realized just how exhausted he was. He felt ill from swallowing all of the sea water. He probably should have drank some fresh water while he was fully awake, but he'd do that in the morning. He was so tired and sick feeling that he just didn't want to get up. And besides, Katara was just so cute while she slept. He was soon asleep as well, his head on top of Katara's. This position didn't last long. Only about twenty minutes before he adjusted them both to lay down properly. He held her close for warmth. His uncle would never let him live this down if he found out. And that was his last dreamy thought before falling back asleep.

Katara fell into a dreamless, peaceful sleep for once. No nightmares haunted her mind. And when her eyes cracked open as the morning sun sent its rays into the cave, she felt much better, albeit a little sore from the escape still. She felt Zuko's arm over her shoulder and felt her back pressed up against his chest. She gently picked up his arm and pushed herself up to a sitting position before setting it gently down on the ground. His skin was dry…unusually dry. He had taken in quite a bit of salt water previously. Casting her embarrassment at awakening next to him aside, she went outside and took some water from the plants, wishing that there was a stream somewhere nearby. If she kept doing this…there weren't going to be any flowers or grass left. She brought the water in and sat by the fire pit, wondering if she had done the right thing. He wasn't shivering anymore, and he was sleeping peacefully. She smiled, he looked so sweet when he was sleeping.

Zuko's eyes opened a slit when he was moved but then closed again. He was sound asleep for several minutes longer, but once his body missed its companion, he woke up. "mm?" Sitting up in his bedhead was really apparent. It was all sorts of flattened and spiked on the side he was sleeping on. The other just wildly went in all directions. Not very fitting for a prince. He realized that he had to go to the bathroom really badly and got up suddenly, excusing himself. "I have to go to the bathroom." He left and came back two minutes later, his body practically slumping right back to the cave floor. "I feel hot now..."

Katara snickered when she saw his bed hair. His was just as bad as Toph's. She waited patiently for him to come back and frowned at his comment, "Here, I got this water earlier, you need to drink…you took in too much salt water before." She pushed the water over towards him, "I know it's awkward to drink from, but it's all I can do." She watched him with concern. He wasn't well yet…She was hoping he would be better in the morning after he had some rest, but his body was still reacting badly to his nearly drowning. "You'll be okay, just drink. I'll prepare breakfast in a bit."

Zuko actually seemed to like drinking from no cup this time. He took it like a challenging game and drank up the water presented to him. "That was delicious. I'd love to have some more.." He seemed to be in a good mood this morning. Maybe it was a firebender thing. He always seemed to be in a relatively good mood in the morning. "My appetite's back.. I'm alright. I'm just dehydrated." He knew full well what dehydration was. He was experiencing it. Dry eyes, blacking out, headache. He knew all of the symptoms first hand. "I've experienced worse before." His bed hair still looked really awful. He must not have realized how bad it was.

Katara smiled as he drank the water. She had no doubt that he HAD experience worse before. Her confidence lifted and she went outside to get another sphere of water. She then passed it back to him and watched him drink some more, "I'm glad you have more energy now. I don't want you to overexert yourself though. You're still not feeling well, and I can handle all the cooking and whatnot. Just…take it easy, okay? Once you're better, we'll set off in the boat and try to find the others. I'm sure they'll be flying around on Appa. It shouldn't be too hard for us to find them." She did her best to think positively. They weren't going to be stranded on this island, not unless she had anything to say about it.

"Yes. I'll keep a lookout for the others. I can signal them if I see them. I won't be overexerting myself.. and yet I can still be useful." Zuko felt a lot better after drinking all that water. His energy had doubled, and his body was cooling down. He got up and walked down the beach, sitting near the water that had nearly been his grave the day before. Azula must have gone easy on him. She cared about him after all. She could have killed him while they were unconscious, but she locked them up. She didn't fight to her fullest before he had nearly drowned. Well, he liked to think that this was the case. He wanted his sister to have exposed some sort of compassion towards him. It was wishful thinking.

His mind also wandered to thoughts of his mother. He wondered if she'd be proud of him, knowing that he was overthrowing his corrupt father by the Avatar's side. That he hadn't forgotten who he was, nor had he forgotten her face and her last words to him. His eyes gazed at the ocean's vastness as he wondered where she was in this world. If she was happy.

Thoughts also turned over to his uncle. He hoped that his uncle was doing well, and that he wasn't angry anymore. He really hoped that his uncle wasn't angry anymore, and that he could beg for his uncle's forgiveness. He wondered if his uncle had begun traveling back to Ba Sing Se to restart his tea shop. It was a thought more for novelty than actual seriousness, and it made him smile and almost laugh out loud. His uncle would do something silly like that. But in all seriousness, where was Uncle Iroh?

Katara smiled and nodded at Zuko's plan. She watched as he walked out of the cave towards the beach and she set off to look for some fruit to make for breakfast. There were a few fruit-bearing trees nearby. She managed to collect a few bananas and apples for their meal, using waterbending to cut them gently from the tree. With the fruit in hand, she went back to the cave and set them down on the ground, she would clean them later. She couldn't help but thinking…where were the others? She could imagine Aang and Sokka's hurt expressions when they realized they were missing…What had she done? She wondered if they would find them on time. Aang still needed to learn Firebending…and when the group was separated like this, they were vulnerable. The others could handle themselves well on their own…it was her and Zuko that she was worried about. And their enemies weren't that far away. She gave a small groan _Why do I always get myself in these situations?_

A thought came across Zuko's mind. What if Azula were to find them again? _Am I afraid of her? This is pathetic._ She was obviously going to look for them, because strategically this was the best time to do so. [iOr is she planning something other than killing us off? Is she trying to buy time? Regardless of if Katara and I live or die, if we don't get to the Avatar and help him learn firebending... and assist him in thwarting danger, we're useless./i

He felt very sobered by this thought. He was the crowned prince of the Firenation, and he originally lost it to go disrupt the Avatar's destiny. And then because of that he gave up his title to assist the Avatar. Katara was the most powerful waterbender he'd ever witnessed, but without the company of the avatar, her destiny was to continue as a peasant in a small village. Without Aang, their destinies would be completely different, yet he wouldn't have it any other way. There was something so right in helping him that it changed his whole view on life. "So what if I'm not feeling that well, we have to help Aang. We have to find him." 

As a breeze brushed through his hair, he changed his mind about taking it easy. If he wanted to take it easy, he wouldn't have dedicated himself to helping Aang. He stood up and looked over at Katara. "What's keeping us here right now? If we can gather up some food and water, then we should be on our way regardless of my current health. At least if we can get to a populated town we may be able to figure out where we are." It was decided then. Before even waiting for her to respond he pulled out a decorated Earth Kingdom knife from his boot (a good hiding place apparently) and began walking around, looking for some things that wouldn't spoil in a few days.

Katara turned her attention towards him and gave a quick nod to show she understood his decision. He obviously was feeling well enough to go search for some food. She grabbed her own pile of fruit and took an apple, snacking on it between cleaning up the burnt firewood. She would feel a bit safer knowing that if someone landed on the island, they wouldn't see their fire and know that they left not too long ago. Katara then took the rest of the fruit and brought it over to the boat. With her hands free, she gave a small wave of her arm, causing a tentacle of water to leap from the ocean and sweep away the brush before pulling the vessel back into the water. 

Satisfied, the water tribe girl looked up at the skies. They were perfectly clear, it was a great day to set off. If Aang was up there, he would be able to spot them. She sighed, she missed them. Even though they've been separated for a day, it still seemed like ages. At least she had Zuko, however. Though whether that was a good thing or not was way beyond her understanding. Chuckling softly, she kept an eye on the boat, waiting for Zuko to come back.

Zuko wasn't sure how Katara found food so easily. He trudged the island for almost an hour and found a much less impressive amount of food. Irritated, he gave up and walked back over to Katara. He was pouting just like a spoiled little child when he showed her what he found. "I couldn't really find anything... I found these.. nut-things... And these fruits from where you were gathering fruits... and uhh I found... These other nuts here.. And that's it." He swallowed his pride, obviously wishing he'd been more helpful.

Katara smiled, "That's fine, we should have enough to last us. Now let's get out of here and find the others." She took the food from him and stifled a laugh. He reminded her so much of a little kid…it was hilarious. She then placed the food in a small compartment within the boat and started up the motor. No way was she going to use waterbending this time to propel the ship. Her arms were still sore from yesterday's battle.

"All right, let's go find Aang and the others!" she cried out before steering the boat out into the ocean. The motor whirred louder as the propellers kicked into action, sending the boat speeding across the water.


	6. Episode 6: Homeward Bound

**Next chapter Hope you like it!**

**Episode 6: **Homeward Bound

Katara sat at the back of the boat, steering it at well as she could. She had never driven in a motorboat before…it was a neat experience once she got used to it. Occasionally she glanced up at the sky, searching for a giant fuzzy bison flying somewhere in the clear skies. The wind blew through her hair as they sailed forward, throwing it against her face. She wiped a stray strand away from her eyes and felt the cool ocean spray against her skin. She could get used to traveling like this. Now that she felt safe within her own element, she gained confidence. "So…are you feeling better?" she asked over the sound of the motor, hoping to start a conversation with her companion.

Zuko sat quietly beside her and until he was spoken to, he'd been gazing straight ahead. "I am feeling a lot better." He smiled at her warmly. Her company made him feel cared for and safe. Whoever Katara decided to marry and have children with would be one lucky man. ".. Thanks to you. I think you'll make a great mother some day."

Katara blushed, but still had a small smile on her face, "Thanks, Zuko. I'm sure that you'd make a good father someday. Hopefully this war will soon be over…and you can be with Mai again." She knew he loved the girl. She could see it in his eyes every time he encountered her. She knew how it felt. Aang's face appeared in her mind, as prominent as if he were standing right before her. She smiled. He really loved her…and she loved him too.

Shaking her head to get rid of the thought, she gave an awkward cough and scratched the back of her head.

When Mai was mentioned, the prince also blushed. "I would like to be with Mai again.. and I believe this war will soon be over. Once we defeat my father." He turned a little more red as he looked back out to sea. "I'd make a good father? Do you really think so...?" In that moment he thought about having children of his own to look after. He had two, and one was a girl. The other was a boy. They seemed about the same age, and they both had gentle smiles on their faces. They didn't know war. He hoped he could be a good father. Maybe if he only modeled after his mother then he'd be alright... motherly... but better than the sort of role model his father was.

Katara watched as Zuko gazed out at the sea, apparently daydreaming. She gave a sigh and rested her back against the boat, holding the rudder still with her free hand. She was heading towards the East, the direction that she knew the earth kingdoms were located. As she directed the boat in the right direction, her own mind began to wander. She imagined the entire gaang hanging out at a beach after the war was finished. She was floating on her back, allowing gentle currents to carry her around through the water, and watched Aang glide through the air. Sokka was building a sand fortress for the fun of it, and Toph was relaxing on more solid ground, gazing sightlessly towards the sky. She looked around, and saw Zuko and Mai sitting next to each other on the beach, sitting beneath the shade of an umbrella. Appa was floating not too far away from her, and Momo was resting on his back. She gave a sigh, but her mouth turned down into a frown. Would they ever live peacefully like that? 

Zuko realized they'd both been silent for quite some time after he'd finished daydreaming. He looked at Katara, also leaning his back against the boat. "I can't even imagine being a father. Mai said she doesn't even want children. They're needy and annoying. She can't understand why people think they're cute. I guess I feel the same way..." He wasn't being very truthful, but he actually didn't know anything about children. Sure, as Firelord he'd have to continue the line, but he couldn't imagine the... baby part. "But... I have to have children anyway..." He seemed confused.

Katara listened to his words and shrugged, "Well, I guess you won't know unless it happens. Though I can't see how you guys don't think that children are cute. I've lived with quite a bit of them growing up, and they always stole my heart." She chuckled softly, "I guess I'm just a softy when it comes to them. Since you HAVE to have children, I guess you'll have to just spend some time with one so that you're prepared for anything." She chuckled, "I can't imagine you doing that, but it would be pretty entertaining."

Zuko's heart began racing when Katara said it. He'd always said it, but to hear someone else say it. "..." The look on his face said it all. "I don't know... I wish I didn't have to. It's.. scary.. The thought of bringing new people in this world. I don't want to fail them as a father.." He wouldn't admit to his dislike of small and dark places, and yet here he was, confiding in her about his discomfort of children.

Katara looked at him, seeing his uneasiness. "Don't worry, I'm sure that…when this is all over and the Fire Lord is overthrown, you will become a good fatherly figure in the future years." She sighed, "I'm sure you'll think differently when the time comes. I really don't want to think about it myself, I'm too young to have those thoughts yet. Though I did used to enjoy taking care of some kids back at my tribe." She smiled fondly, recalling a long lost memory, and shook it away. She couldn't brood on the past, right now she had to concentrate on the present, and get them both out of the ocean safely.

The prince smiled, his heart still beating fast. He was thankful for her words. They were reassuring. She knew exactly what to say to him. "Hey, did you notice that it's almost been a whole day and we haven't fought... at all? I think we even enjoyed each other's company... I've enjoyed your company..."

Katara laughed, "Yeah….that's strange. I guess I didn't realize how much we were alike, or how much we really needed to rely on each other. I guess I was wrong to say the things I've said back at the Western Air Temple…after these past few days, you haven't shown any dishonorable deed that would make me lose your trust. I guess…I owe you an apology." She looked down at the floor of the boat, "I'm sorry for threatening you…I was just so angry and hurt after what you did in Ba Sing Se…I just felt like I could never forgive you."

Zuko listened quietly, his heart leaping for joy. His smile betrayed his feelings towards what she was saying. "I'm so happy you've forgiven me." His gaze was soft. It almost seemed impossible that he was the same Prince Zuko who obsessively chased Aang. "I don't know what pushed me to continue pursuing Aang in Ba Sing Se. I had been running from the Fire Nation as a fugitive for quite some time at that point, and the last time I saw Azula had been when she struck my Uncle. I guess... I really wanted to believe that my father would love me if I did that." He looked away. That sounded more pathetic than he had meant it to. "In hindsight I think it was a rash and poorly thought out decision. I would have chosen otherwise if I hadn't been interrupted by Azula. Or at least I wouldn't have... " And now he sounded like he was his sister's little puppet. "... Uh... Not that Azula... I don't know."

Katara felt as if a large weight was lifted from her shoulders as he accepted her apology. He sounded sincere, but at the mention of Azula, he faltered. It really wasn't him that the Waterbender didn't trust, she now realized. It was his manipulative sister who steered his thoughts towards what she wanted him to do. So as long as Zuko kept his thoughts clear around the princess, well, she felt she wouldn't have to worry.

"Don't worry about it…I really think we need to start over…I don't want to think of you as my enemy anymore…and I don't want you to think the same about me…" She sighed and looked out at the water as it zoomed past in a blur. 

"I never really thought that way about any of you in the first place, even though I was trying to. I never wanted to capture Aang... He's a child. It's not fair.. I never actually hated any of you." He smiled sheepishly at his lap before looking up at the clear blue sky. "... And now I know it's okay to follow what I feel is right. I was always jealous of you guys, free to do what you wanted. And you are all so happy together... I always wished I were one of you." He almost laughed at himself.

Katara smiled, "Well, now you are one of us…so at least you got your wish." She closed her eyes and gave a sigh. They were actually getting along now…something she wouldn't have thought possible just a few days ago. He felt like a brother to her, one that irritated her to no end, but also one she wanted to help when he was in trouble. The few times they spent alone together had allowed them to see each other through different eyes. All it took was for her to get to know him. 

She opened her mouth to say something else, but she saw something from the corner of her eye. As she twisted her upper body around to look over the back of the boat, her eyes widened in shock as an all-too familiar looking ship came from behind, "Err…Zuko…remember those pirates we fought before…I think they're back…"

Zuko stood up and turned around. "I remember the pirates. Should I be getting used to this!" They had tried to kill him before; were they returning to finish the job? "I wonder if they recognized us, or if they're just trying to steal from us unknowingly." He glared at the opponent. "Do you think we can escape...?"

The big lipped man looked through his telescope. "It's definitely the waterbender. She's traveling with.. My my... The prince of the Fire Nation really did survive after all... What should we do captain?"

The captain's eyes narrowed, "We have some unfinished business to attend to…full speed ahead!" The reptile bird on his shoulder cawed eerily as the captain drew his sword. "This time, they won't escape." He muttered darkly.

Katara got to her feet and noticed that the ship had gained speed, "One way to find out…" She threw both of her arms behind her and sent them flying forward once again, using a current of water to push the boat forward faster then it was before. She ignored the soreness and continued to push the boat, hoping it was enough. However, whenever she looked back, she saw that the pirate ship was gaining on them. There was no way they were going to outrun them, "Ugh…looks like we have to fight." She smirked, "I'm stronger then I was the last time I fought them. They're going to be in for a rude surprise."

Zuko smirked back at Katara. "So am I." He took in a deep breath, twisted his body, and subsequently lunged his entire upper body like a spring, moving his arms out from his body. It resulted in a huge fireball that came right for the ship body. Something about those pirates apparently personally irked the prince. He wasn't playing games with them.

The big lipped guy yelped. "Fire blast dead ahead captain!" The blast hit the ship body, causing a large hole. The ship caught fire as well, and the crew began rushing to put it out.

Katara's eyes widened in shock at Zuko's impressive attack. Her eyes followed it towards the ship and she watched as it blew a huge hole in the ship's hull. She leapt out of their own vessel and formed two blocks of ice on her feet before controlling her direction with the water beneath her. She was practically skating across the ice and she sent blasts of water at the pirates above the deck, knocking a few of the crewmates off board.

The Captain clenched his teeth angrily as the boat took a major hit. As a blast of water from the Waterbender came towards him, he sliced his sword through it so it would split on both sides of him, "We need to destroy their vessel! The Firebender would have to fight on our ship, and the girl can't stay out there forever. Fire the cannons from both sides when we draw near enough!"

The crew scurried in different directions. Some to help the ones who fell overboard, others to put out the fire, and others to operate the cannons.

Zuko's eyes narrowed. "You won't even get the chance!" He shot two well placed fireballs at the cannons, causing them to blow up before they were ready. The cannons blew holes into their own ship. "Come down here and fight me you cowards!" Zuko gestured for them to come on down.

Katara smirked as Zuko took out the cannons. She was about to fire at the lip-guy once again, but something flew at her and she ducked as the talons of the reptile-bird nearly got entangled in her hair. She sent a blast of water at it, sending the irritating creature flying in the other direction.

The captain glared and leapt off the side of his ship to land onto the benders' vessel. He lashed his blade towards Zuko as he soared down towards the ship and swung it in a cross-like motion towards him.

Katara noticed the big-lip guy preparing to jump and she quickly skated beneath him and sent a blast of water into his stomach, sending him flying back onto his own ship. She then lifted herself to their vessel with a pillar of water and melted the ice from her feet as she landed on the deck floor. Getting up to her feet, she got into a fighting stance and glared at the pirate, "Long time no see." she said with a smirk.

"You'll pay for that map with your head! I know all about you! The Fire Nation would pay a fortune in bounty just for you! Or I could wait until the Avatar came along to save you.." The big lipped guy smiled and threw a smoke bomb from out of nowhere right at Katara's feet. He then jump kicked into the cloud.

"You're going to have to do better than that! And after trying to kill me I will give you no mercy!" Zuko threw a series of small punches at the captain, jumping back to avoid the captain's lame attack.

Katara's eyes narrowed as the smoke surrounded her. She closed her eyes and listened carefully, hearing something come at her directly. She twisted to the side and drew a whip of water from the ocean, lashing out at the figure that appeared directly in front of her. The Waterbender froze the whip as it wrapped around the intruder and sent a blast of water over the side of the ship towards them.

The Captain dodged the blows quickly and lashed his blade at the flames that drew too near to dodge. When Zuko leapt back, he leapt forward, striking his blade towards the Fire Prince's legs. 

Zuko jumped toward the captain, simultaneously dodging his blade. He drew his arms close to his body and then unleashed a wave of fire right at the captain with a growl. Just thinking about the pirates got him angry, and this was his opportunity to show them just how he felt. He remembered his heart racing as he thought he was going to die, managing to survive only to see his one and only ship burn down never to be replaced, and feeling this bitter desperation. His rage was fueling his firebending more than he'd like to admit, especially to Katara. He hoped she didn't notice how angry he was.

The big lipped guy heard a whip coming but it was too late as he was trapped and forced to deal directly with this huge wave of water. The wave of water broke the whip and sent him swimming off the ship, screaming. "HELP! HELP HEELP!" Not much of the crew remained on the ship at this rate. There were several people unsuccessfully trying to put out the flames and a few who were trying to help other crew members get back onto the ship. No one directly initiated with Katara.

The Captain's eyes widened in shock as the wave of fire came towards him and he leapt above the flames. As he crashed back down onto the boat, the vessel rocked violently, threatening to throw off both of the fighters. The Captain noticed the Fire Prince's anger, and the cry of his first mate told him that they were losing this battle quite badly. Giving an angered roar, he rushed forward, jabbing his blade towards Zuko's stomach. Using this as a distraction, he ducked and swept his leg in a kick at Zuko's feet.

Katara, realizing she was free to do what she wanted, threw her arms out and formed ice around the bottom of the boat, rendering it useless in the water. She then turned her attention to Zuko and the Captain and watched carefully in case the Prince needed her to help.

His eyes widened as the sword came for his stomach, but he also noticed the Captain's little trick. He couldn't believe he had previously struggled against this man. He solved his problem by simply jumping back, but his arrogance had caught him, as he ended up on the small ships edge, almost falling over the edge, but he barely managed to keep his balance.

The Captain took the opportunity to rush forward and began to slash his blade left and right, his anger at losing the battle fueling his actions, making him act recklessly.

Zuko simply allowed his enemy's own movements to be used against him. He stepped aside and shoved the idiot captain overboard with a smirk.

The Captain cried out in shock as he was thrown into the sea. He noticed the same fate befell most of his crew, and he glared angrily in defeat, "We'll be back, Prince, and next time you won't be so lucky!"

Katara rolled her eyes and leapt nimbly onto the boat, "Yeah right. You guys barely even lasted two minutes! The next time you decide to fight, make it a bit more of a challenge. I'm bored to tears!" She lifted her arms and moved them forward quickly, sending a small tidal wave crashing down on top of the pirates, not large enough to submerge them, but enough to properly humiliate them. She then started up the motor and sat back against the wall of the boat, "Well, that was easy."

"They're just a bunch of slimy sneaks. They can't do anything unless your back is turned to them." Zuko was not hiding his anger and left over frustration. He sat down again, still feeling the adrenaline pumping through his veins.

Katara frowned, "So...what happened between you and the pirates? Aside from fighting for Aang...I wonder why you looked so mad when you were fighting them." She was curious...

"Zhao hired them to kill me, and they almost succeeded. They blew up my ship. Luckily I was the only one in it, but I can't say I walked out unharmed.. My uncle wouldn't let me out of his sight for a while after that. He was shaken by it." Zuko's angry expression grew. "I can't believe the nerve of them! What a bunch of cowards!"/quote

Katara frowned and closed her eyes, "So that's why you were all bruised up when we fought at the Northern Water Tribe..." Remembering the battle that they had, she shook her head to clear that thought and murmured, "That is pretty low...even for pirates." She recalled the reason why they were after her. It seemed so long ago...when she first stole that Waterbending scroll in order to train herself...

Zuko nodded, touching his face and cooling off a bit. "Yeah, I was so desperate I didn't even allow myself to rest properly first. But I'm glad I went there, not because of Aang. Because I got to see Zhao and give him a piece of my mind before his inevitable... passing. After angering the ocean spirit he and his massive fleet were given no mercy. I can't believe I was trying to fight someone like Aang."

Katara closed her eyes and smiled, "Yeah...Aang's really amazing. Sometimes I can hardly believe he's just a little kid. He's an extremely powerful bender..." she opened her eyes, remembering the fortune tellers words so long ago. Her smile grew. When she opened her eyes again, she noticed Zuko looking at her and she blushed.

"I remember that was really haunting for me. Being forced to go after a kid, especially one as powerful as him. One who's been merciful to me again and again. It was bad... But now that I'm on his side, I feel invincible... Even though the past few days have been nothing but trouble..." Zuko seemed oblivious to Katara's blushing.

Katara smiled, "Yeah...we have run into quite a few problems since you joined us. But it hasn't been anything too serious. At least we now have fewer people out there trying to kill us. And I guess that isn't a bad thing..." She closed her eyes, recalling the events from the past few days. So much had changed...She went from absolutely hating Zuko to tolerating him within a night, and they fought the pirates together and actually acted like a team. It was strange...yet it felt kind of nice. Maybe they would become friends...It just...had to take some time.

The prince pulled his hair behind his ears, brushing his hands through it as if to sooth it. He watched the ocean with awe. The ocean spirit could have killed him as well, and yet he was spared time and time again. Even just recently the ocean didn't successfully drown him, it gave him back to Katara. "I've changed so much in the past year, and yet I feel more like myself than I have in a long time. I almost forgot who I was, lost in my father's shadow." He looked back at his hands and then Katara. _Never forget who you are._ She reminded him of his mother again, and it made him smile at her. Katara assisted in helping him to remember who he was. She brought out a soft contemplation in him just like his mother did.

Katara looked at him as he gazed out at the ocean. He had changed…She remembered the tough, seemingly emotionless teen that attacked their village all those months ago…When she saw him in the cave at Ba Sing Se…she barely recognized him until she saw his scar. And now…he appeared like he really cared about Aang's well being. Deep inside, she really felt like she should trust him. When he looked at her and smiled, her doubts began to fade away. Yes…there was a chance that they could become friends. 

Their eyes made contact for several long thoughtful moments before he realized perhaps he was being rude, staring at her like that. He cleared his throat and gazed out at the ocean once more. The smell of the ocean was so strong it was almost unbearable. Oh wait, maybe there was still seawater in his nose. The thought made him cringe a little and sniffle.

The silence had returned between the two. When he was with Aang, the Avatar would talk his ear off half the time. They always had things to say to each other. Katara and he seemed to have a lot more peaceful and quiet moments when they weren't arguing. The prince was almost tempted to annoy Katara just so that they could have something to do. But being so well bred, he didn't. _What's that? Oh, it's just a cloud. I wonder what Aang and the others are doing right now._

As Zuko's eyes met her own, Katara thought she could see an inner peace within his gaze. It was a feeling that she only felt a few times, usually when she was on her own, or when she was helping a loved one. It amazed her that she saw it in the Prince's eyes when it was just the two of them. As he looked away, she rested her chin on her arm, listening to the gentle whir of the boat's motor. The silence was beginning to get overbearing. She wanted to lighten up a bit, so she smirked slightly to herself and pointed over to the left side of the boat.

"Zuko! Check out that awesome fish!" she yelled. With her other hand behind her back, she began to form a swirl of water that she would send up at him at just the right moment. 

The prince looked at Katara with a confused face. "Why would I want to look at a fish? A fish is a fish.. Are you that bored? Why are you so excited about a stupid fish?" Although getting him to turn around didn't work, it appeared he hadn't understood the prank Katara had up her sleeve.

Katara inwardly groaned and continued to point furiously, "I've never seen that kind of fish before! I need you to help me figure out what it is!" Her hand gesture was quite comical as her finger waved up and down. She continued to swirl the water, _Come on…Just look already!_ she thought eagerly.

"Why would I know? Aren't you the one obsessed with water?" He started to become suspicious. "Wait a second. Why would you want me to turn my back to you so badly? Are you trying something childish?" _Yeah, that would get Katara flustered_, he thought with a smirk.

Katara blinked, but retained an innocent look, "Me? Do something childish? That's Toph's job." She looked back at the spot she was trying to get him to look at and gave a sigh, "Well, nice one, Zuko, you missed it." She made a subtle motion with her hand in order to send the stream on the other side of the boat, nearer to Zuko.

Zuko turned to look where Katara had been frantically pointing. "Really? I mean, maybe it'll show up again." He looked around. "I don't think it was actually there at all."

Katara watched as Zuko turned around and with a quick gesture of her hand, she sent a thick blast of water towards the back of Zuko's head. As it made contact, she smirked and began to laugh, "Man! It may not have worked right away, but the outcome is still as funny as heck!" She leaned back against the boat, still chuckling slightly from splashing him. It definitely didn't work out the way she wanted it, but it was still fun.

"AWGH! I'm all wet! That was so childish Katara!" Zuko gave her an angry pout, his amber eyes flashing. He dried off relatively quickly though, so what he continued to pout about seemed petty. "Now I'm cold again; I can't believe this." He noticed that Katara was laughing, and it made him lose focus on being angry. He forced back a smile and began wringing out his hair.

Katara gave a satisfied sigh as she calmed down a bit to take a few deep breaths. "Childish, yes, but fun too. And you're a Firebender, a little cold won't hurt." She sat up straight and streamed a bit more water between her hands, tossing it back and forth. A mischievous smirk appeared on her face.

Zuko had a mischievous look of his own as an idea popped into his head. She couldn't keep tossing water on him if...

And he could make her confused and annoy her all at once. He'd do it. "But now I'm really cold. And it's your fault so I'm using you for warmth." Without even giving her a chance to retaliate, he grabbed her arms and pulled them down, causing the water to land right on her lap. He then wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Were you bending water just a moment ago? Why'd you drop water on yourself like that? Brr... I'm so chilly..." The prince seemed ultimately satisfied with himself. Happy.

Katara cried out in shock as Zuko leapt at her. As he pressed her arms down, her bending form broke and the water crashed onto her lap, soaking her. She was about to leap up and fight back when he wrapped his arms around her, pinning her arms to her sides.

"HEY! Getoff!" She yelled, caught completely off guard by his gesture. Clenching her teeth, Katara squirmed to try and get out of his grip, "No fair! You can't pin me like this!"

Zuko gave her a sweet and innocent glance and a sugary smile. "Pin you..? I don't know what you're saying. I'm just cold." He held her closer, squeezing her but not so much to hurt her. As long as he was able to hold her, she couldn't waterbend the water on her lap, which endlessly amused him.

Katara's eyes narrowed and she shivered as she felt the cool water against her skin. She continued her futile struggling, but it only served to get her more wet and frustrated. She closed her eyes and took in a hiss-like breath before letting herself go limp. She hoped to get his guard down so she could get him back. 

Zuko was completely assured in himself until he felt Katara go limp. "What's the matter Katara?" He let go and watched her carefully, concerned. "What did I do? Are you alright? Oh no! What if Aang finds out I hurt her! Ugh-- stupid stupid stupid!" He smacked his palm against his forehead repeatedly. He really was naïve.

Katara opened her eyes a crack and noticed that Zuko was looking at her, concerned. Taking this chance, she leapt to her feet and shot her hand forward, sending both the water from her lap, and some water from the sea, soaring towards the Fire Prince's face.

His one eye widened a lot and his mouth gaped as he was yet again completely soaked. He coughed, having gotten some in his throat. "That's not funny Katara! You looked dead and knowing my luck you could have been!" The seawater again dried very quickly. "Eww I'm all salty..."

Katara rolled her eyes, "Yeah, because I really could have died from you holding onto me. How weak do you think I am?" She then smirked, "You're afraid of a little salt?" She had a longer stream circle around herself and she gave him a challenging look, "Care to try that again? I have plenty of water, and I doubt that I'll ever tire of splashing you with it."

"Oh come on! I'm tired! I know I held my own against the pirates but dealing with a crazy girl is too much! I nearly drowned yesterday! I don't want to get wet anymore! Come on Katara! I'm going to go under the deck and leave you alone if you keep splashing me!" He pouted at her as if this would ensure he got his way. He hated being under the deck in these tiny boats. It was just so... tiny. But that wouldn't stop him from doing it to punish Katara.

Katara's eyes narrowed, "Crazy? Just because I'm trying to lighten the mood a bit doesn't mean I'm crazy." Her voice lifted a bit, "Why don't you stop whining and enjoy life for a little while, instead of hiding away because of some stupid mishap? It's not like I'm going to throw you overboard! I'm just trying to have a little fun."

The prince grew red in the face, indignant. "I'm not-- Ugh! You-.. I'm going below! Don't disturb me!" He headed for the door and pulled at it again and again. It was locked. "What the... I can't believe it's locked!" He kicked it in frustration without even denting it and sat back down with a childish huff.

Katara watched as he uselessly kicked at the door and she folded her arms over her chest, "It sure looked like that worked out well. You really looked immature right there. Why don't you just grow up and stop being such a grump! I'm trying to cheer you up so you don't have to be so depressing!" She sent the water around her back into the ocean and muttered something inaudibly.

Zuko folded his arms and glared at Katara for a while with no vocal response. He then huffed again and turned away from her. "I can't wait until we find Aang. You're so annoying."

Katara's eyes flashed dangerously, "What! _I'm _the annoying one? I'm not the one constantly throwing tantrums when I don't have my way! And at least I'm actually _trying _to keep our spirits up! You didn't have to get all defensive because, like it or not, I had a great comeback after you made me splash myself!"

"I'm not being defensive! You're trying to make me angry so you don't have to be friends with me! You're picking on me! I don't like water, so stop splashing me with it! I feel disgusting! I need a nice hot bath and I need to wash my clothes and I want a hot meal and I hate this! I'm supposed to be teaching Aang firebending right now but something always gets in my way! It's always something!"

Katara yelled, "That's not true! I'm not trying to make you angry! I'm trying to tell you what I think about your pouting and complaining! You're constantly doing it and it drives me crazy! You're going to have to wait until we actually find Aang, and complaining is not going to make things go any faster!" She huffed and sat back down at the end of the boat, looking out ahead. She saw a thin strip of land further out to sea and she gave a relieved sigh, "Thank goodness…" She muttered, "I was beginning to get tired of being stuck in this small thing with you."

"Well EXCUSE ME for alerting everyone in the market there was a huge bounty on my head and getting us locked up in the first place! And I don't pout! I'm not pouting! I'm just so angry that you can't seem to play around without SPLASHING ME! Can't I be angry I was almost killed by my sister twice in the past few days!"

Katara felt blood rushing through her face as he reminded her of her big screw up, "Hey, at least I made up for it for saving your butt in the ocean! Do you think it was easy for me trying to drag you through the water AND fight your psycotic sister AT THE SAME TIME! You DON'T have to take your anger out on ME! And how else do you expect me to LIGHTEN you up! Hug you! I already did that once and I'm NOT looking forward to doing it again!"

It was a half-lie. She felt kind of bad about what happened the night before. She actually enjoyed having someone close to her when she slept. It gave her a sense of security and warmth, a feeling she hadn't had since her mother had died…She closed her eyes, remembering the times her family would spend huddled around the fire in their home, their arms wrapped around each other in loving embraces. That one time with Zuko reminded her of that…

"Fine! I won't hug you! Ha! I don't even like hugs! Hugging is just a waste of time! I don't care about hugs! You know the only reason I hugged you was to use you for warmth because you nearly drowned me! It's not like it was comfortable or anything!" He didn't even know what he was saying at this point, so he was mainly taking everything he really felt and swapping it because it hurt so bad that she'd say such a thing. He actually liked hugs, and he liked hugging Katara. He had thought she was just so motherly and huggable. But if she didn't like hugs...

"Yeah, I don't even like you!" Zuko turned away, glaring at nothing. He was just saying things to hurt her feelings at this point, not even considering she may be doing the same. _She's just been pretending to like me. That's so screwed up._

Katara looked up and felt a pang of guilt strike through her heart as he yelled. She closed her eyes, feeling tears well up in them. _"Yeah, I don't even like you!" _His words hurt…She could hear his anger and felt it within her. She didn't mean to offend him, or hurt him. She just didn't want to admit that she liked the kind gesture.

She turned her head away, allowing the hot tears to fall down the sides of her face. Did the hug mean anything to him? "_You know the only reason I hugged you was to use you for warmth because you nearly drowned me!" _Her shoulders shook as his words replayed through her mind. She tried not to cry aloud, her lips quivered as she fought to remain silent. Her shaking and the tears were the only signs of her sadness. She felt terrible…Why did she have to start an argument with him when they were just getting along? Why did he say such hurtful things, when they were just arguing like before? She was confused and emotional. She wanted to lay down and sleep her worries away, but she couldn't. Not while Zuko was still angry. But she didn't know how to make it up to him, so she remained silent, unable to express her feelings in words.

The prince turned around after a small period of silence to see what his shipmate was doing. There was no yelling, no angry glare. There wasn't any reaction at all. _She's shaking. Oh no, is she crying? What did I do? I'm such an idiot. Maybe she was just saying things too. Maybe she didn't mean what she said. I didn't mean it either. But how do I even explain myself? Why do I always screw up?_ He had to do something, anything. His anger had died down immediately after she began crying and it was all replaced by guilt. He could just imagine her big blue eyes filled with tears, and it was all his fault.

If she was actually pretending to be friends with him, why was she so upset?

His eyes softened and he walked up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I... I didn't mean what I said. Please don't cry. I... don't know why I said that..."

Katara blinked to allow the newly formed tears to slide down her face. She felt Zuko's hand on her shoulder, and she looked back instinctively, imagining her mother standing behind her. When she saw Zuko with her teary eyes, she blinked again and wiped the back of her hand across her eyes, "I…it…it's okay…" she muttered, sniffing slightly as she turned her face away. She didn't shake his hand from her shoulder, she felt the warmth it gave off, and was comforted by the gesture. "I don't know…why I said the things I have too…I sort of enjoyed this time we…had together." She ran her arm over her eyes to wipe away the tears that continued to come and gave a shaky sigh, "I'm sorry…"

The sight of her eyes in that state of utter sadness compelled him to do something. _She liked the time we had together?_ He took her into his arms, embracing her. "It's okay.. I liked spending time with you too." What would cheer her up? What could possibly help her to feel better? Something, anything to comfort her. "I don't not like you..." _Real smooth_, he thought to himself.

Katara's eyes widened as Zuko wrapped his arms around her. She then closed her eyelids and leaned against him, feeling the warmth of his embrace. She missed hugs…they were so few and far between in their group. Throughout their adventures, they hadn't had much time to really…well…hug. 

"I don't not like you…"

She shook her head, a faint smile coming to her lips. He really had a way of expressing himself… "I don't not like you too." She wrapped her arms around him and returned the hug. She hoped he didn't get the wrong idea, the idea that Aang probably would have if he saw them like that. It was a friendly hug…nothing more, but nothing less. 

It was almost as if Zuko was on the same wavelength as Katara. "But I also don't _like you_ like you either. Not that I don't like you. Just..." He sighed. Yet again, _real smooth_. He wanted to make sure that line was drawn not because he thought anything would happen between them, it was more so that if this ended up being mentioned later her stupid older brother wouldn't start putting ideas in everyone's heads. "Sokka wouldn't like seeing me act brotherly towards you. I think he'd get the wrong idea. Especially after the platypus bear incident." Once he felt that his intentions were clearly represented, he hugged her tighter. _It's like having a little sister that I can actually love. Should I share that with her? She'd probably think it was funny. The fire prince adopting a little sister, yeah, what a riot._

"... You're like a younger sister I can actually.. um... do things with?"

_Wow, I just shouldn't say anything out loud. I'm definitely better off as the 'stoic' one in the group._

Katara smirked, "Don't worry, because I don't _like you _like you either. And don't worry, I won't tell Sokka anything about this." She had images in her mind of how her older brother would react, none of them all too pleasant. If he saw them hugging…well, chaos would ensue in the group and he'd never let her live it down. Even if she became really irritated with Zuko, she doubted that she'd spitefully share what their relationship was like these past two days.

At his little sister comment, she chuckled softly and looked up at him with her bright, blue eyes, "You mean a little sister that won't try to kill you every time you turn your back?" She hugged him tighter, "And you're like another older brother who drives me nuts at times…but I guess you do have your sweet moments." She inwardly smirked, remembering how he looked when he slept.

As Katara iterated her mutual only-friends feelings Zuko nodded with complete agreement. It made him wonder though why they had to explain this to each other in the first place. Was it _that_ ultimately forbidding for any sort of feelings to develop between the two? On his side, absolutely, in fact. He'd never really pondered it before that moment. He never even SAW her as a woman before now. _As the crowned prince who is going to rule this nation someday, I guess I can understand my apprehension towards women._

The prince smiled at the mention of 'sweet moments'. "Sweet moments? What kind of sweet moments are you talking about?-- And I'd like to be thought of the older brother who can actually bend, who's well read, smarter, and generally better at everything. Because... you already have an annoying older brother." 

He finally released Katara from his firm hug and placed his hands on her shoulders, leaning in close to her face to check if her emotional state had improved.

Katara blushed, "Well…sweet moments like…when we were talking about your mother…and when we…" she blushed even deeper and as he looked her in the face she turned her eyes to the side, "When we huddled for warmth in the cave. I never expected that out of you…" Her blush slowly faded, and she gave him a lighthearted smile, "Well, I'm sorry, but you probably won't be thought of as that. The bending part is all you have going for you. You're definitely not smarter or better then him." A small laugh escaped from her lips.

Zuko watched her softly, nodding at her words until she said 'I never expected that out of you', and then he pouted. He sneered at the statement about him not being smarter or better than Katara's brother. His face was very amusing.

"Hey... Even when I considered you as an enemy, I always had mercy. I thought I was being the good guy; that's all I ever wanted to be. That's why I'm here now. I'm not heartless. On the contrary, I'm very passionate about.. everything." 

He smiled, retaining that soft look on his face. Then he raised his brow, pouting again. "But there's no way Sokka is as good at fighting as I am." A small smirk escaped from him, he was probably joking. Either that, or he was thinking that Sokka was such a lame fighter.

Katara pulled back to get some space from him and smiled, "Okay, maybe you're a little bit better." She spaced her thumb and forefinger a centimeter apart, "By maybe that much." She smirked and rested her arm over the side of the boat. She closed her eyes and gave a sigh as her hand trailed through the water, propelled by the boat itself. She had a thought to splash Zuko again, but maybe later. She didn't want him to start complaining again.

Zuko's hands slid to his sides as he continued to slouch. "I don't think so. Last time we sparred it only consisted of him running away." The land was slowly growing closer. "... Is that mainland?"

Katara smiled, and then squinted as he mentioned land, "It sure looks like it…" She smiled and stood up to her feet, "The sooner we reach land the better. Hang on tight." 

As she stood, she send a few streams of water towards her feet and turned her ankles slightly to form some ice around them. Then, she threw her elbows back and sent her arms forward, causing a powerful current to press against the boat once again. She wasn't going to waste time, the sooner they got to land, the sooner they could find out where Aang and the others were. 

Zuko inwardly hoped there was a nice giant town they could stop in. He'd like to buy a change of clothes, have his washed, take a bath, and sleep in a giant fluffy bed. It was a nice dream, but he knew as well as Katara how much Aang needed them. But if they were near a large town, they could also be near smaller towns while they travelled back towards Aang's direction.

They could buy a map to situate themselves as well.

Within minutes, the land came closer into view, and Katara was able to put the ship onto shore, quite a ways from the nearest port. She didn't want to cause mass panic in the village if the people there saw the Fire Nation boat. As she leapt out of the vessel and landed on the ground, she looked around at her surroundings. It wasn't the place they were at before they were captured, but it was a start.

After Zuko climbed out of the boat, she once again hid the boat within a clump of trees and turned to him, "Are you ready to go?" 

The prince nodded, looking around. He then walked on beside Katara, heading for the town. "... Do you think my clothes stand out too much?" He pointed out his somewhat tattered red hood and cape. If Katara hadn't screamed out his identity, the clothes probably gave away he was at least Fire-Nation. He hated shopping but at least he'd get some clean clothes if his current ones were deemed unfit.

Katara looked over his appearance and tapped her chin in thought, "Well, we should be good for a little bit, but you should really get some new clothes…" She closed her eyes and gave a sigh, "I'll try not to blurt out your identity…I really don't want to end up in another situation like that…" [I_Though it did give me some time to bond with him…_/I she added in an after thought.

"I'm not worried about it." He smiled warmly at her. He wasn't going to push for new clothes, but the whole seawatery dirtfest that was going on wasn't really doing it for him. Dirt was sticking to his face; he looked like a common bum.

He'd never looked less presentable. Not many would even take the watertribe girl seriously. If he saw himself in the mirror, he would have probably absolutely insisted on bathing and dressing properly. He must not have known how bad he looked.

Katara smiled back and quickened her pace, "Maybe…before our search…we can find a nice place to cool off. I'm sure we could find some hot springs around here…or at least we could make our own." She thought about the idea. It would work…all it would require was some thought, and a nice place to set it up. She was sure that if someone happened to stumble across a hot spring where there wasn't one before, it might be suspicious.

Soon, they were in the town, and Katara looked left and right to find a good source for information. "Hey, do you have any cash on you? If we're going to buy you some new clothes, we should make sure we have enough money." She kept her voice down, enough so that no one would over hear her, yet she wouldn't seem suspicious.

Zuko pulled out a bag of cash and dug through it. "It's mostly not Earth Kingdom money, but I do have a little bit left over from while I was in Ba Sing Se." He handed her the cash he sorted through and put away his other cash. It was something he did without thinking. He then realized he did and hoped she didn't notice he had just treated her like one of his servants. The prince was 'too good' to carry his own money after all. All those rules made him want to puke. It was purely out of habit.

"Let's situate ourselves first." He sniffed his arm and made a face. He smelled gross. Like old seaweed baked in the sun. "But bathing would be nice too." He looked around for a little while before finding a tourist shop. He stopped there and looked around. "So.. Uh... Where exactly are we sir?"

Katara blinked as he handed her the money and she stared blankly at it for a second before wrapping her fingers around the change. She was about to ask him why he did that, but he was walking towards the tourist shop.

The elderly man at the counter tapped his chin and smiled at the two, "This is the village of Chang Ying. It's a small town, but it's very prosperous for its size!" He motioned towards the shops around him and gave a warm smile, "You should check out some of the great stores they have here. Our produce comes straight from the colonies themselves!"

Zuko's eye widened. "This is a colony.. Oh right. I should have guessed." He gave the town around him another glance. Most of the people there wore some sort of red garment, and those who didn't wore brown or a dirty green. They were a mesh of Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom customs. It felt familiar and foreign to him all at once. "One map please." He took the map offered to him. "Look on the back", the old man said to him. And so he did. "Oh.. it's a list of local stores. Thanks." He promptly began leaving without even paying, apparently from lack of practice with merchants. The man gave Katara this look. "Two silver pieces please."

The prince noticed that there was a clothing shop not too far away. It was just down the market street. _Great. New clothes. I've never been so happy to go shopping for new clothes before. Actually, I've never been happy to shop before._

Katara gave an irritated look as Zuko left and she passed two silver coins to the man, "Thank you for your help." She gave him a kind smile and then turned around to catch up with Zuko. She saw him heading towards a clothing store nearby and quickly rushed to his side so they wouldn't be separated. The town was small, but crowded.

"Alright, let's get you some new clothes…I think mine'll be fine. I'll was them when we get cleaned up." She pressed the coins into his hand, forcing him to take them, and smiled, "Get something nice now, I'm sure you don't want to walk around looking like a slob."

"I don't look like a slob... do I?" The prince took a glance as he fingered his money into the store's display mirror. He saw a scarred up, dirty faced, messy haired... ew. "Ugh..." He began looking through the outfits. There were a lot of green and brown ones at this store. The store clerk eyed him suspiciously.

Katara looked at the image in the mirror and smiled, "Does that answer your question?" She stood nearby, watching as he looked through the clothes. From the corner of her eye, she saw the store clerk giving him a suspicious look, and she edged closer to the Fire Prince, "Hey, would you mind speeding this up a bit. The longer we stay here the more likely we're going to get caught." She made sure to keep from looking suspicious, keeping her voice at a low whisper while she pretended she was looking at clothes along side of him.

The clerk closed in on the two. "Hello there, how may I serve you today? I only have the finest clothing... How much are you looking to spend?" Zuko twisted his lip in thought and then looked at Katara. He wasn't sure how haggling even worked, or if they had to do it. He didn't want to be swindled since they were on limited funds. Maybe she knew more about this sort of thing. "My... uh.. girlfriend is in charge of the money... She's helping me pick out a nice durable... outfit. I sort of.. ruined this one really quickly." The clerk immediately seemed to back off, nodding. "Ohh I see. You two make a nice couple. Might I also interest you in some fine dresses young lady?"

Katara stiffened as the clerk came towards them and she turned and gave a meek smile, "Uhh…we're here to spend as much as we need to, no more, and no less." At Zuko's comment, she hissed, "Girlfriend!" audible only to him and sidestepped closer to him to elbow him roughly in the side, "Yeah, he's a hopeless case, he can't find a good price on objects if his life depended on it…As for the dresses, I'm not really interested…sorry, but my _boyfriend _here is the one who needs to be clean."

Zuko felt as he was elbowed roughly and rubbed the spot. It was going to bruise. "Ow.." The clerk seemed pleased enough, beginning to mumble about his first love and how he used to be a hopeless case. Never so dirty though. Poor girl. Way too pretty for him. Zuko glared at the clerk before continuing to look through potential clothes. "I think I like this one." He pulled up a lovely green and brown multi-layered piece. The clerk smiled. "You have exquisite taste. That one is made of the finest silk available." Zuko nodded, stroking it lightly. At least his hands were clean, otherwise the clerk would get angry at him surely. "I see the master stitching as well. This was made very well. I want it. How much is it?" The clerk smiled, cash in his eyes. "Yes, I'll take no less than forty gold pieces for it. A fine deal for quality like that. It's meant for nobility." The prince smiled politely and began counting his money, but then frowned. _That's practically all I have. Why is it so expensive?_

Katara narrowed her eyes, "No way that outfit costs that much. It's nice and all, but it's not THAT nice." She tapped her chin in thought and looked at Zuko's money. They had to have extra in case they didn't find the others soon enough. "We won't give more then 30 gold pieces."

Zuko frowned and looked at Katara. "I don't even think we'd pay 30 gold pieces for it. The other clothing store had a similar piece and it was marked 20 gold pieces. Such a nice price. No wonder it's more crowded there." He set the piece down and began to leave. "What? The other guy is selling a similar piece for 20 gold? That RAT! I'll give it to you for 17!" The prince perked and turned around. "Oh really? Deal." He gave the man the money and took his well earned outfit. Smiling, he began to leave.

As Zuko grabbed his things and left, Katara quickly followed and chuckled when they were out of hearing range of the store clerk, "Great one, Zuko. I didn't know you could haggle like that. That was pretty impressive." She looked around, noticing a food stall nearby and took a few coins from Zuko, "I'll be back, I'm going to get some food for us before we go into the woods." She raced over towards the stall and began looking at the food items. 

The prince smiled at her compliment, beaming. "I just used a trick I've seen my uncle do. We were on a tight budget in Ba Sing Se." He watched as she left his side and held the outfit closer to himself. He saw the general direction she'd gone in, but the road was so tight he'd quickly lost sight of her. _Didn't she just tell me we should stick together?_ He began walking in the direction he'd seen her go.

As Katara payed for her food, she turned to meet back with Zuko and stopped in her tracks as she heard the Fire Prince's name being said.

"…Prince Zuko and a waterbender friend of his were last seen in the ocean. Apparently they gave the Firelord's daughter a hard time before escaping. I sure hope they stay out of sight…" Katara thought she saw the man glance at her quickly before he looked back at his companion, "I hear Azula has been looking all over, searching for them."

The Waterbender blinked, and clutched the food tightly before slowly making her way back to Zuko. She relayed what she heard back to him, and murmured, "We should get out of here…If that man was right, and Azula's around, it'll be better if we make ourselves scarce."

"No, if my sister is here then let her find us. At least if she's targeting us, she won't be targeting our group", Zuko murmured in a quick reply. "And if we move too quickly, we'll create suspicion around ourselves. We don't need anything else for now, so let's just idly walk to the edge of town and figure out where we might find Aang." Zuko nonetheless put his hood over his head and looked around a bit with his new clothes firmly pressed against his chest before striding off towards the edge of town.

Katara closed her eyes and nodded, "Alright…I guess you're right." She blushed slightly. Why did she never think these things through? Of course it was more reasonable for Azula to find them instead…but she was pretty nervous about it. The princess wanted them either dead or captured…neither of which seemed like very good options in her opinion. 

As they walked towards the outskirts of town, she began to feel vulnerable without her trusty waterskin at her side. She gave a small groan, now she knew how Sokka must've felt when he lost his boomerang. She hated having to rely on plant water to attack. It seemed like such a waste…

"Okay…so we're out of town…where should we go from here?"

Zuko put his things down and rolled out the map. He pushed his hood off his head and began fingering seemingly random places on the map while deep in thought.

"Oh... I saw something and I thought of you Katara." He unraveled his new clothing and gave her a well crafted deep red and gold waterskin. "I know it's not much, but at least until you can get yours." He began paying attention to the map again.

Katara's eyes widened in shock as he passed her the beautiful waterskin and a wide smile came on her face, "Th…thank you, Zuko!" She wrapped her arms around him in a quick hug and quickly hung the satchel over her shoulders.It curved around her side just right so that she could access water with it easily. She took the opportunity to find a nearby stream and she filled it up, feeling the familiar weight of it. "Much better." She said with a smile, "Now I don't have to keep killing trees."

The prince expressed mild shock as he was hugged, and then he smiled happily. _She really likes it._ He watched as she filled it up and then finished his calculations. "We split with our gang on this very island. We are east of there by several hours. If we start traveling by boat now we can easily reach them before nightfall." This meant he wouldn't get a chance to bathe, which disturbed him more than a little. He gave Katara a once over. She looked FINE. _I'm so jealous_. He pouted.

Katara's heart lifted when he told her the others would be nearby. She started to walk in the direction of their boat, but at a quick glance, noticed that Zuko was looking at her, a pout on his face. She lifted an eyebrow in a confused look and shrugged before leading the way back in the direction they came from, going around the outskirts of town instead of through it. They could never be too careful.

_Why does she get to be clean? I'm disgusting. It's not fair_. Zuko walked along side her for a little while but then stopped. "Wait, let me at least bathe quickly. I can't stand this anymore." He side tracked, heading for the stream they'd been near. He began stripping, hoping Katara didn't stupidly follow him. He just couldn't stand the sticky dirtiness anymore. It was overwhelming. "Don't follow me. Just stay there." 

When he was satisfied, believing that she wasn't following him, he finished stripping down to his undergarments and tossed the shredded clothing aside. When he stepped into the clean fresh stream it was a relief. Immediately he scrubbed his face with his hands and began trying to get the salt out of his hair.

Katara nodded and watched him leave before taking a seat next to a tree. She rested her back against the trunk and closed her eyes, allowing herself to doze off a bit while she waited. She pictured meeting up with the others, hugging them all before explaining their little side adventure. She had never been separated from the group this long before. And the last time she was, ironically she had been stuck with Zuko…It was as if fate were playing tricks on her, trying to get her to befriend the prince. 

It took much scrubbing without any soap to get all of that salt out of his hair. And he wished he had his razor too, because his face was making him itchy. He should have purchased one at the market. "Oh well..."

Once clean, he pulled himself out of the water and then heat dried. Then he pulled on the new clothes. They were a bit big on him, but he managed to adjust them.

"Okay. Let's go then." He walked past Katara, looking great besides his little lip whiskers.

Katara snapped out of her dozing state and nodded quickly before getting to her feet. She noticed the start of a mustache growing on him and she looked away to hide the smile on her face. "Alright, the boat shouldn't be too far, let's get out of here!" 

They soon arrived at the spot where they hid the boat, and Katara swiftly pulled it into the water with help from a controlled wave. She looked around, checking their direction, and climbed into the vessel, "Alright, let's get going!" She started up the motor and directed the boat in the right direction. She closed her eyes and smiled; in a few hours, they would be with the others. 

Zuko sat beside her, itching the side of his face idly. Maybe it wasn't itchy because it was dirty after all. He pictured himself with a full beard like his father or uncle and made a slight face. How could they stand it? It was so itchy. But now that he was coming of age, he'd be expected to grow something pretty soon. And be married too. And have children.

"..." He looked up at the vast sky and inhaled and in turn exhaled. _But for now, I'm not doing any of that yet. One step at a time._ In a few hours, he'd be trying to make up for lost time with Aang.

Katara covered her mouth and gave a small yawn as she steered the boat with the other hand. She was almost getting sick of being on the ocean. She just wanted to sit down around a nice fire and talk with the others. She actually missed Sokka's humor, Toph's attitude, and Aang's playfulness. 

"So…you have quite a bit of catching up to do with Aang's lessons, don't you?" She asked, "And I'm sure the others are completely lost without me being around to take care of most of the chores." She chuckled, "They probably miss us."

"I don't know. I'll bet they're..." And he trailed off. There was this speck, and it was coming closer to them. "... here?" The speck, what was it? "What is that!" It was Aang, and he was free falling right for them. "GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUYS!" He used his glider last minute, but then crashed right into Zuko, smiling goofily at Katara. "Hey Katara. Hey Zuko. I'm so glad you guys are okay!"

Katara's face lit up with a huge smile as Aang looked up at her. As the Airbender got up, smiling sheepishly at Zuko, Katara quickly wrapped her arms around him, "Aang! I missed you so much! I'm so glad you're okay as well!"

Aang returned the embrace and closed his eyes, "I thought we lost you! It's such a relief to see you guys alive and well! You have to tell us all what happened! The others are camped out on the shore not too far from here! Let's go!" He pointed towards the forest and Katara quickly adjusted their course, relief flooding through her as the boat turned. It was so great to see him again.

They soon arrived at the shore and Katara waited for the other two to get out with their things before she sent a tidal wave towards the back of the boat, tipping it over. She didn't want anyone to see it and find out where they were, and they really didn't need it anymore. "Okay, Aang, lead the way." She said with a smile.

The Avatar nodded and leapt forward into the trees, full of energy. He was greatly relieved. He was afraid something terrible had happened to them. But now, seeing them, all his fears were dispelled and his cheerfulness returned tenfold. 

Zuko walked awkwardly, somewhat like a gimp. "Ow... You couldn't have just landed in the water Aang?" Somehow he felt Aang was taking some sort of subconscious revenge on him for stealing Katara away. "Did you take my things with you?"

Sokka eyed Zuko suspiciously, throwing the prince's bag in his arms. He then hugged Katara, his eyes teary. "Katara! I thought I'd never see you again!" Toph ran over to Katara and also hugged her. There was some sort of obvious preference going on as the prince was left alone with his bundle of stuff.

The fire prince glared and walked off with his stuff, searching for his nicely decorated knife. Where was that thing? Oh right, it had been with him the whole time. He smacked his forehead, pulling his knife out of his boot. He began shaving, pretending to be too busy for everyone's hugs anyway.

"Are you okay Katara? We heard you'd been captured, but then it was a trap for us, and we were captured. Then we got out, and unable to find you, we left for the closest mainland hoping we'd find you there! I'm so glad you're safe!" Sokka wiped at his face after squeezing his sister one more time.

"I'm happy you and Zuko didn't kill each other while alone." Toph smirked widely.

Aang grinned, "But that wouldn't have been nearly as fun, Zuko!" He said as he watched the prince walk away. He noticed the others hugging Katara and he joined them as well.

Katara smiled and closed her eyes at the hugs, smiling as she welcomed the embraces. "I'm fine! We're fine…We were captured, but we managed to escape as well. Then we were stuck on an island and had to survive a night." She smirked at the memory, "Poor Zuko was practically helpless, but we managed to live." She looked over Sokka's shoulder to give a smile to the Prince, but he wsas busy shaving. She frowned and then turned to Toph, "Yeah…well, we got along…fairly well." She began to blush and turned her head away to keep Sokka from seeing, "He didn't get on my nerves too much."

Toph's face became incredulous for a moment, and then she smiled and chuckled.

"You guys actually got along? Really?" Sokka looked over at Zuko and then at Katara. "How did THAT happen? We last saw you two having a huge argument!"

Zuko finished shaving and looked at the group, who was looking between him and Katara. "I wasn't completely helpless. You nearly drowned me! ... What's everyone looking at! Let's just move on."

Katara's mouth opened in shock at Zuko's statement, "I almost drowned you! I saved your life!" She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, trying to lower her frustration. The last thing she needed to do was get into another argument with him, not after they were getting along so well. "…Let's just sit down and take a breather. I want to hear about what happened with you guys."

Sokka laughed at Katara and Zuko. "I knew it was too good to be true. You two are the same. You're probably just more used to the arguing now." Toph was smug about something, but she remained silent. The prince seemed to be angry over something, but he didn't deny that Katara had saved his life. He had so many things he COULD say to her, but he left it alone.

Toph decided to tell their tale. "Well basically several hours after Aang and Sokka came back and you two hadn't shown up, we began getting worried. So we all travelled back to the town and began asking about you. A lot of the people wouldn't talk. They were afraid of something. But one townie finally told us that you'd been arrested for being loud in pubic. We all believed it and went to the sheriff's office to bail you guys out, but then we were captured. Soon Azula had shown up to be sure we were properly taken care of. She was really mad about something. Anyway, so we ended up escaping blah blah blah she chased us around, almost killed us, blah blah blah. We thought maybe you'd also been captured by Azula, but we couldn't find you and she hadn't mentioned you so we assumed you escaped from her. While on Appa we guessed to check out this big island that was close to the mainland because it seemed like a good 'meeting place', and while the rest of us hid Aang set off on his own to find you. Then he did. And here we are."

Katara listened to their tale, frowning at the mention of Azula. It was really her fault in the first place that they were all in that mess, but she guessed that what was done was done, and she didn't have to fret about it anymore. She then began to tell their story, about their capture and escape, their time on the island (leaving out the hug and the air-vent incident), and the pirate attack. She explained it in detail, and ended with them meeting with Aang. Then, giving a deep breath, she smiled, "And that was it."

Sokka laughed with relief. "For a little while there we thought Zuko'd gone and turned on us and captured you. And once we were trapped we were even more afraid of that. But then it was his sister and we were like 'oh'. Yeah. Man I'm glad we're all back together."

Azula's older brother glared at Sokka and then looked away angrily. It was Katara's fault, not his. He thought better than to defend himself and tried to let it go. He almost missed being alone with Katara. Sokka was unbearably annoying. And so he did the next best thing. He took charge.

"We're going to keep moving to lose Azula's trail and then make camp for the night. Aang, I'm going to train you some more tonight. We can't keep being set back like this. It's exactly what she wants. Alright, let's go." Zuko began putting things onto Appa, who wasn't too far away. Momo seemed happy to see Katara and had climbed onto her shoulder with a happy chitter.

Sokka just stood there for a moment as he watched everyone follow exactly what Zuko said. "..."

"... Hey! I'M THE LEADER! Why is everyone listening to ZUKO?"

Zuko glared at Sokka. "Got a problem with the plan?" Sokka pointed at Zuko. "YES! Stop ordering us around!" The prince gave him an 'are you kidding me' look and then continued what he was doing.

Katara frowned at Sokka's comment and silently agreed with Zuko's plan to get out of there. When Momo hopped onto her shoulder, she smiled and scratched beneath his chin, hearing him give a soft purr before he lay down on her shoulders.

When Zuko and Sokka began to yell, she gave a tired groan and turned to her brother, "Sokka, just listen to him for once. He's right, we have to leave as soon as possible so Azula doesn't find us. I'm not in any mood to get into another battle right now, and I'm sure the others feel the same."

Aang nodded in agreement, "She's right. Let's just get our things packed and leave. I don't want to stick around long enough for Azula to find us."

Sokka put his finger down and complained while following everyone else. "I know... But I'm the leader guy. He's trying to take my place. He's already taken my 'complaining guy' title and my 'I'm the oldest' title. It's not fair!" The two angry jerks sat on opposite ends, both with their arms crossed and looking away from each other. Once everyone was on, Sokka took the reigns. "Yip yip!" And off they went towards the South East. Toward an unfamiliar and large peninsula of Earth Kingdom land.

When Appa landed in a secluded area, Katara immediately set to work and began unloading their things. She refused to rest as she set up tents and a fire pit with Aang's help, but she was beginning to feel her responsibilities build up, especially with the extra person in their group, "Zuko, you can use my tent from now on." She said, "I really don't need it, if it rains, I can just bend the water." She then added teasingly, "Plus you'd be able to get a bit of extra rest if the sun shines in your eyes again."

Aang listened to her, and wondered why there was such a sudden change in her attitude around Zuko. They obviously had time to talk when they were both captured, but how could that keep them from arguing so much? Was it because Katara saved his life? Or was it something more?

Zuko shook his head. "Katara, you can't bend rain while you're sleeping. I'll be fine. I'll just sleep with Aang if it starts raining." Toph grinned. "Or you could sleep with Katara." Zuko shook his head. "She's a girl! I don't sleep with girls!" Toph cracked up at how flustered the two felt. She wasn't entirely sure if something had happened between them or what, but it was funny. "That's okay Prince, I'll just make you a tent if it rains." She pat him roughly on the back, almost causing him to fall over.

The prince stalked away from Toph, lighting the fire pit. "It's not even going to rain anyway."

Katara sputtered furiously at Toph's statement, "Are you crazy! I don't want him sleeping next to me! That would be wrong!" She then stopped and blinked, realizing that it had happened before in the cave. Could Toph possibly have figured it out? No…That was impossible, but still…She felt extremely uncomfortable around the blind Earthbender now, so she turned to the others, "Are you guys hungry? I bought some food…" She opened the cloth that held some vegetables and meats wrapped separately, "We'll have enough for a while, but I don't want to make a meal and realize that no one's hungry for it."

Zuko watched the fire, responding to Katara first. "I'd like to eat. I'm so hungry. I can make the dinner. You're probably tired."

Sokka watched Zuko suspiciously. "We haven't really gotten to eat all day actually, so yeah we're all pretty hungry. Actually I'd like to cook tonight. I'll give you a break little sister." He smiled sweetly at her.

Zuko shrugged. "Oh, I guess it makes sense to take turns cooking dinner." Sokka frowned. "Yeah, of course it does." _Because I'm right. And I'm a good brother and I don't need you butting in on my sister._ "Besides, while dinner's cooking you two could do your little jerk bending." The prince glared at Sokka. Once the two made eye contact, a glaring session began. "It's not jerk bending! It's a sacred martial art that's a vital part of my culture!" Sokka stuck out his tongue. "Yeah, the culture of burning things to the ground is SOOO cultural and sacred."

Katara rolled her eyes at the two and gratefully moved aside so Sokka could cook. However, he was too busy glaring at Zuko that he failed to notice, and she cleared her throat to get his attention.

"You know…nothing is going to get done if you guys keep fighting like this…" She felt like a hippocrite. Wasn't it just her and Zuko arguing that way a few days ago? She chuckled softly, she definitely changed in the past few days. Zuko on the other hand…he didn't seem like he changed at all.

Aang waited patiently for Zuko and Sokka to stop glaring and he murmured, "Zuko…should we begin our lessons soon?"

Zuko stopped glaring at Sokka and nodded at Aang, still irritated. "Yes, before the sun goes down. Let's get started." He walked off, expecting Aang to follow, and stopped not too far away from the group. He sat in a clearing and began picking at grass. What was he going to teach him next? _What would uncle teach him?_

Sokka sighed grumpily and began cutting the meat and veggies into bite sized pieces. He'd gathered specifically sized and type sticks from the pile of sticks and began creating kabobs.

Katara sighed as Zuko led Aang away and she watched Sokka cut up the food. She went over to Appa and leaned back against his soft fur. She just wanted to sleep…but her stomach gave a dull rumble that betrayed her hunger. Rest would have to come later, but it was impossible for her to not doze off. Her eyelids grew heavier by the second, and it took all her concentration to keep them open.

Aang sat in front of Zuko and watched as he picked at the grass in front of him. A strange silence came between them and the Airbender gently coughed to get the Fire Prince's attention, "So…what are you going to teach me now?"

"You can create fire. The key now is precision. You need to master your basics before you can get any further. Let me see your stance." Zuko watched as Aang got into his firebending stance. "A little wider. You look like a waterbender when you stand like that... Okay that's better." Zuko tapped his chin in thought for a moment. "I want you to firebend while concentrating on your proper breathing. I'll stop you if I see any mistakes."

Toph sat beside Sokka and began cheering him up, talking to him softly so as not to disturb Katara, who was obviously wiped out.

Aang fixed his stance as Zuko instructed him and he took a deep breath. Then, breathing out, he shot his fist forward and a bright flame shot forward, spiraling through the air a few feet in front of him. It vanished before it could hit anything and Aang lowered his hands, breathing out a long sigh as he did so.

Katara couldn't stay awake any longer. She closed her eyes completely and felt her mind drifting off. A few thoughts went through her mind, but she was too tired to think clearly on them and she soon fell asleep. Her head rested against Appa's sides, and her arms rested on the grass beside her.

Zuko nodded. "Well, apprentice. That wasn't too bad. Now I want to see you make as small of a flame as you possibly can, while keeping in mind proper breathing."

Sokka watched as the kabobs slowly cooked. He took off the ones that were entirely vegetables. Those were for Momo and Aang. The rest still weren't done yet. Momo perked at the kabobs but a firm glance from Sokka told him not to go after them. He lowered his ears sadly and fell asleep beside Katara.

Aang nodded and held his hand out in front of him. Then, breathing in deeply, he let it out slower and a small flame, about the size of a candle light, appeared right at the tip of his forefinger. It remained that way until his breath ran out and it slowly died out. "How's that?" he asked, smiling slightly.

"That was okay for a first try. Again! Longer this time!" Zuko folded his arms and watched from his seat on the ground. "I want you to hold that flame as long as it takes. This requires breathing in exactly a way which will not put out the fire, but will also not feed it."

The Airbender gazed down at his hand and took another breath. Then, he formed the flame once again, but controlled his breathing so he would continue to breath in and out occasionally, but it would not move the flame. He felt how smooth his breathing went, and watched as the flame continued to live at his fingertip. 

_Katara was once again back home, but things were peaceful this time around. When she got out of bed this time, her eyes widened in shock when she saw her mother sitting beside the fireplace in the corner, stirring the soup inside with a spoon._

"Mom…" Katara mumbled in her sleep. Her thumb, fore, and middle fingers twitched slightly.

_Katara reached for her mothers shoulder and gently rested her hand upon it. She smiled as her mother looked at her with the same sapphire colored eyes that she shared, and she felt her mom's comforting arms wrap around her._

Momo wrapped his arms around Katara as he slept on her, purring.

The fire prince watched Aang carefully for what felt like forever before he broke the silence. "Stop. You've shown me enough. You're a quick learner, Avatar Aang." He smiled at his friend. Once he was brought the question "what's next", he played with his new outfit in thought. He wasn't sure what to teach him, but surely there was something they could do before dinner was ready. "Let's meditate now. We're going to focus on our breathing while connecting with our inner selves. The selves which aren't attached to worldly concerns and are totally at peace with the flow of life." At least, that's how his uncle put it anyway. He always still felt pretty attached when he meditated, although it managed to cool him down somewhat when he was feeling high strung.

_Katara helped her mom finish the soup and she sat back to watch her pour it into separate bowls. It had been so long…since she had seen her. She didn't register that it was only a dream, it felt completely real to her. Her mother walked towards her and took a seat, wrapping a comforting arm around her daughter's shoulder. Katara leaned against her and closed her eyes, feeling tears of joy run down her face._

Aang smiled and sat cross-legged in front of Zuko. He closed his eyes and felt the way that he breathed. He wasn't sure if he was doing it right, but as he breathed in and out, he felt himself relax and he continued to inhale and exhale in a slow, steady way.

Zuko's mind moved from thoughts of Aang to thoughts of Katara to thoughts of his mother and his uncle. He let them slowly drift away and felt as the sun replaced the void left behind. Even though it was sinking over the horizon, strangely he still felt it giving him life and energy. That was something he'd never noticed before. He couldn't see it, but it was still supporting him. This was tremendously relieving for him. He sighed softly, smiling.

There was a long period of graceful and peaceful silence with a backdrop of crickets and other night time animals.

"DINNER'S READY!... Hey, what're you guys doing? Sleeping? I thought you were supposed to be training." Sokka watched them curiously and laughed inwardly as he disturbed them, especially Zuko. The look on his face was priceless. "HEY! Can't you interrupt us more QUIETLY! We were meditating you buffoon!" Sokka glared. "BUFFOON? I'm not a buffoon! You're a giant seal-turtle turd! Yeah, you're WELCOME for cooking DINNER!" He stomped off, huffing. He was sure Zuko had done something wrong; he just hadn't figured it out yet. But that didn't mean he had to be nice to him. _That sister doer wronger! ... Person! I know he wooed Katara.. or worse! Kissed her! Or he hurt her! Or something bad! They were alone TOGETHER! I was so stupid to leave them alone!_

Sokka wasn't even thinking straight at that point. He really had a bad two days. He lost his sister and spent sleepless hours worrying sick about her, imagining the most terrible fates for her and his father's disappointed reaction. Imagining that perhaps she'd died or was unable to escape a torturous prison. He was really still upset over all of that.

Zuko glared at Sokka stormed off. "What's his problem? I didn't DO anything and he keeps attacking me."

Aang sighed and shrugged his shoulders, getting up from his position on the ground, "Sokka was in pretty bad shape after you guys disappeared…he was worried sick. Just…give him some time to cool off, now that Katara's back, he should be feeling a bit better, but the fear he had is still in him. He'll be back to his good ol' self in a few days, I'm sure of it."

The prince groaned at Aang's statement. _Why is it okay for me to be picked on? If he were taking this out on Katara it wouldn't be okay_. "I didn't have the best time either. Drowning's not exactly fun. Fighting my sister's not fun. Fighting with Katara wasn't fun. Give me a break." Without allowing Aang to respond, Zuko got up and began walking towards dinner.

Aang frowned and watched as Zuko walked off without another word. He gave a sad sigh and walked over towards the camp. Zuko never really got a warm welcome, unless he counted himself crashing into him on the boat. The Avatar quickened his pace and placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder, "Zuko, I'm glad you're okay, and I'm glad you're back. I really did miss you." He gave him a gentle smile, "It was awefully lonely not having you two around. I missed you both."

_Katara, still leaning against her mother's shoulder, barely heard the alarm bell as it went off. However, she heard the cries of shock and alarm, and her head immediately shot up from alertness. Her mother gave her hand a comforting squeeze and she helped her to her feet. Katara staggered a bit. This scene was…familiar. She could hear the warriors crying out to each other, and her father's voice rang out the loudest of them all._

"_The Fire Nation is attacking!"_

_Her breathing grew heavier as her mother pulled her out from their igloo. She desperately tried to pull back, crying out, "Don't Mom! I can't lose you again!" But her mother surged forward, in the direction of a younger Sokka, who was brandishing a small boomerang._

"Really?" The prince smiled softly. "I missed you too." He gave Aang a pat on the back. "You're a lot of fun." He wasn't sure how to describe the warmth he felt for Aang. _Even when we were fighting on opposite sides fate kept us both looking out for each other somehow._ He thought about that a lot. "It's quiet without you." _So what if some of the group doesn't like me; I'm here for Aang and Aang likes me. He missed me._

Aang grinned and rushed forward to sit beside Toph around the fire. As he took his seat, he stole a glance over at Katara, who appeared to be sleeping. Her breathing was a bit quicker then what it normally was, and he frowned. Her hand twitched every so often because of the dream she was having. He also noticed a small tear streak that ran down her face. 

"Sokka…should we wake her up?" he whispered to the young warrior, pointing towards Katara.

Sokka turned around and before he was able to respond, he noticed that Zuko was waking her up already. This made his eyebrows twitch.

"Katara, dinner's ready." The prince gently shook her shoulder, causing Momo to wake up and hop off. He noticed the tear and watched with a bit of concern. _Does she have a lot of nightmares too?_ "Hey Katara, you're having a nightmare. Wake up."

Sokka rushed to his younger sister's side and shoved Zuko away. "Katara! You're crying! Don't worry! Big brother's here!" The warrior hugged Katara with much a sense of overprotection. Zuko turned back around and glared at Sokka before getting his dinner and leaving the circle with a grumble.

Katara felt someone shaking her shoulder and the dream slowly began fading away from her mind. She saw her mother grab Sokka's wrist in order to run to safety, but the dream vanished to be replaced by the familiar feeling of being hugged. She blinked sleepily and murmured, "Sokka…you can let go now…I'm fine."

Aang looked over at Zuko as he separated himself from the group. He took his own kabobs and went over to the Fire Prince, "Do you mind if I sit and eat here?" he asked, motioning to the place in front of him.

Zuko sat quietly in the darkening forest underneath a tree and on a rotting log. "... No..." He didn't say or do anything else to acknowledge Aang's presence as he began eating. He pulled off each piece and chewed it individually, taking time until he swallowed.

The southern warrior released his sister and grabbed her kabob for her. "Here you go sis. I hope you like it." He smiled at Katara reassuringly. "Was it mom again?" He hadn't seen that particular face on Katara in a while. She wasn't having as many nightmares as she used to, but he was certain that dream had resurfaced just by the look on her face.

Toph quietly ate, enjoying the fact she could see with her feet again. She could tell what was going on within the whole group. Aang was sitting by a high strung Zuko on a rotting log under a tree. They were probably going to discuss something boring that would reassure the sensitive prince. Sokka was worried about Katara, who was shaken from a dream she'd had. _And best of all, I'm not involved in any of this; so I get to eat my food and listen as the entertainment continues until I go to sleep._

Aang ate his food quietly, gazing down at the ground. It was as if he was afraid that if he caught Zuko's eye, it would only further irritate the prince. Instead, he ate in silence, waiting for Zuko to speak first, if he was going to. There was no sense in making him more upset.

Katara grabbed the food gratefully and gave a weak nod, "Yeah…it was." She rubbed her wrist under her eye to push away the remaining tears and took a bite of the food. When she swallowed the first piece, she sighed and rested her chin on the arm that was draped over her knee, "I miss her…so much."

Sokka watched his sister with loving concern. _I hate to see her so sad._"... I miss her too. But at least we have each other. I felt so lost without your nagging." He smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder, sitting beside her.

Zuko never said a word while he ate, but he wasn't feeling angry anymore. The feeling of anger was being replaced by a feeling of awkwardness in the silence between the two. He didn't think he should break it, considering his past pathetic attempts at breaking awkward silences. He finished his kabob and began fiddling with the rotten log, poking at it with the stick.

Katara gave him a small smile and rested her hand upon his. She then picked the last of the food off and ate it before throwing the stick half-heartedly into the fire. Then, leaning against Sokka, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "I'm going to get back to sleep…I'm still tired, and I'm sure you guys have plenty to talk about…I'll leave you be." With a tired wave, she went into her tent and snuggled into her sleeping bag. She closed her eyes and fell back to sleep immediately, completely drained from the events that occurred in the past few days.

Aang cleared his throat to break the strange silence and said, "So…Is there anything else I should adjust in our lessons. I'm not used to Firebending, and I want to make sure I have everything down right."

Zuko continued to play around with the stick. "You're doing great. I've never seen someone as talented at fire bending as you are. You're a natural. I think after one more day of practicing the basics I may be able to teach you more advanced moves." He thought about how Sokka was being especially sensitive about him interacting with Katara. So, either he could ignore Katara and avoid confrontation but hurt Katara's feelings, or face Sokka head on. He knew exactly what he was going to do in that matter.

Toph pat a dejected Sokka on the back. "She's tired. You're tired. We're all tired. Let's go to sleep. G'night." Toph made her tent up in no time flat and fell right asleep. They barely slept the night before. Sokka decided that was a pretty good idea and also went to sleep, leaving Aang and Zuko alone.

Aang smiled at Zuko's praise, "I wouldn't have gotten so far if it weren't for you. You're a very great teacher." He noticed the others going to bed and he tapped his chin in thought, "More advanced moves…like what?" He was really curious. He was so close to mastering every element…he wanted to get it off of his chest so that there would be no fear when it came to fighting the Fire Lord.

"Fire balls, quick shots, shooting out of other chi points such as your finger tips and feet. Using weapons to extend fire bending, and breathing fire. And perhaps you can advance further than me. Blue fire, lightning. Those require the peace of mind and tranquility I know you're capable of." The prince was gazing off into the darkness. He felt cold again, and he wasn't quite sure why. His body had recovered, didn't it? He threw the stick and crossed his arms, keeping them close to his body.

Aang smiled, he could do all of that? He saw Zuko hugging his arms close to him and he frowned, "You're cold? It's not that chilly out here. Definitely not compared to the North or South poles." He gave a big smile, "Have I ever told you about the time that I went penguin sledding? That's so fun, you should really try it some time once the war is over. Katara and I had a blast when we did it." 

"Penguin sledding?" The older boy curled up for warmth. "You mean, using a penguin as a sled? I never went sledding before... Are you sure you're not cold?"

Aang nodded, "Yeah, the penguins didn't seem to mind since we gave them some treats before hand. And I'm sure, it's actually pretty nice out." A concerned look came upon his face and he looked over at Appa, "Maybe you should lie next to Appa, His fur'll keep you warm, and he's very plushy. He makes a great pillow." He smiled warmly, "We should get our rest as well and continue training in the morning. These past few days have been quite draining." He stood up and offered Zuko his hand in order to help him up as well.

Zuko took the avatar's hand and got up. It's not as though his hand was cold, it was plenty warm. He offered a nod to the suggestion and walked over to Appa. Appa was half asleep, but still managed to greet Zuko with a happy little lick. "Uh! Down boy... bleh..." The prince wiped his face and fell onto Appa, finding a comfortable position. The beast was really warm and it helped him to start falling asleep. He was still feeling a little chilly inwardly, but it didn't stop him from falling fast asleep. Deep into dreams of long lost bonds and new friends. Ones he'd never talk about of course, since we all know him by now.

Aang smiled and watched as Zuko took his place next to Appa and he went to take his own place beneath his tent. The grin stayed on his face, even as he closed his eyes and went to sleep. It was great having the whole group together again. When he lost Zuko and Katara, it was like he lost a part of him. Katara…he had to spend more time with her. Maybe after his Firebending lessons with Zuko, he could continue healing lessons with her? His smile grew at the thought, and he sank into a pleasant sleep, dreaming of the lessons that were to come.


	7. Episode 7: Ice Warm Heart

**DragonTamer222 here with yet another chapter :). This one is...interesting I must say XD. Enjoy:**

**Episode 7: **Ice Warm Heart

High into morning, finally Toph decided to stir. She broke out of her rock tent. "GOOOD MORNING FRIENDS and Zuko! Ha, just kidding Zuko."

The prince groaned. "Can't you see I'm still asleep..." Toph sighed. "You're new, so I'll let it slide this time. I'm BLIND remember?" Turning on his other side he cleared his throat and mumbled. "... oh.. right..."

Sokka snorted but then continued to snore. He was fast asleep in his happy dreamland. "gruffah gree... gro...mmmph..." Which translated into 'don't disturb'.

Aang crawled out of his tent and sat down before it, throwing his arms into the air to unstiffen them, "Ahh, that was nice. I certainly needed the rest." He grinned and turned to look at Katara's tent. He couldn't hear her getting up, so he opened the tent flap and saw her still resting peacefully. He smiled and released the cloth, "We can let her sleep in for a bit. I can take care of breakfast." He grabbed a few fruits from their supplies and sliced the tops off with Airbending. He then stuck a spoon in each one and set them aside for when the others would be hungry.

Zuko continued dozing even with the sun in his face, but only for a little while longer. He then drowsily opened his eyes and dragged his feet over to breakfast, which he politely nibbled on with his eyes half closed. He felt it was still really difficult to get up this morning, just like the morning before. But it didn't matter. _Some more fluids and I'm sure I'll be right as rain again. Right as rain? Who says that? Uncle... Oh right._ He cleared his dry throat as he ate.

Sokka continued to snore. He always wasn't a morning person.

Toph ate her breakfast beside Aang. "Hey Aang. You're the only one besides me who looks like he slept well. Zuko's a zombie, Katara's a sleeping beauty, and Sokka is... well... nah he's normal I guess."

Aang chuckled, "Yeah, these past few days must've been a pain for the both of them. Remember, they only had each other to rely on, we at least had three of us working together, as well as Appa and Momo. And besides, it's Katara and Zuko, they probably got on each others nerves and are just tired of arguing so much." He began to eat his food and smiled at Zuko, even though the teen was too tired to react. It felt so great having the whole team together again.

"I dunno Aang, Katara and Zuko seem to have learned how to get along pretty well." Toph gazed at Zuko's general direction and then Aang's, and then she found a happy medium between the two. She felt a pang of jealousy from Aang and curiously a nervousness from the other. Was that nervousness about the other's reaction, or nervousness that he was hiding something? She couldn't yet tell. She didn't know him well enough.

The prince looked at Aang and then at Toph, and then away from both of them. ".. We got tired of arguing sometime in the airship.. After that we.. I think we became.. friends.." He finished his fruit and began trying to figure out where there was a source of water. He idly wondered if Katara was going to use the water satchel that he had given her -- not that he really cared either way. He was pretty sure she wouldn't, considering she really liked her other one just fine. He wondered if Aang, who obviously had a crush on Katara, would become childishly jealous just like Sokka had. It was almost as though becoming friends with her was opening up Pandora's box.

He gave up on water, not exactly knowing where some would be; At least until Katara woke up. _It's so hot today.. Or am I the only one who's hot?_ He laid down on the grass, spreading his body out for maximum heat loss potential.

Aang nodded gently and picked at the grass, a habit he newly aquired from Katara. So the two became friends? He felt old feelings about the two returning to him, but he quickly shoved the emotions aside. There was no way the two could have _liked_ liked each other. Especially only after two days…But still. The nagging feeling of jealousy remained at the back of his mind. He wished it was _he_ who was captured along with Katara. It would've been a great way to spend some time with her. But he was happy that the two benders were getting along. It made things a lot easier on the group as a whole. Well, it would, if Sokka wasn't so pushy with Zuko lately. It appeared as if he were taking Katara's place.

Toph began picking her nose and flicking whatever prize she obtained. "It's already hot and it's still morning. Where's the water 'cause I'm thirsty." Zuko nodded with agreement. "So am I. Where's the water satchel?" Sokka peeked his head out of his tent, rubbing his eyes. He got out and stretched widely. "HUUUUAAAHHGUH... Wow, is it hot out here, or is it just me." He sounded amused with himself and he began chuckling, even though he was half asleep. "Just me.. Ha.." Zuko glared at Sokka's bad joke as if it polluted the very air he breathed. "It's hot out here."

Aang rubbed some sweat from his brow with his arm and gave a silent nod of agreement, "I'll wake Katara up. She's slept in plenty." He went over to the tent and pulled back the flap, "Hey Katara, it's time to wake up." He whispered gently.

The waterbender gave a small groan and lifted her head. When she turned to look at Aang, she blinked tiredly and smiled, "Did I sleep in?" she asked sleepily.

The Airbender nodded and smiled back, "Yeah, everyone needs some water, and you're the only one that has it, so do you think you can come out and help?"

Katara nodded and scrambled out of the tent, catching the waterskin with her arm as she did so. When she got outside, she shielded her eyes from the bright sun and turned to Aang, "Would you mind getting the cups out? It'll be easier on us all instead of having me hold the water in midair."

Nodding, Aang went to do what she asked and handed everyone a small cup. Katara then streamed some water out of the beautiful satchel and poured an even amount in everyone's cups. She took a sip of hers and set the cup on the ground so Momo could have his fill. Then, turning to Appa, she frowned, I'm afraid I don't have enough in my satchel for you, but this'll have to do." She went over to a patch of overgrown grass nearby and had a larger stream rise from the plants before it went into Appa's large mouth.

Toph drank the water and licked her lips. "Man, that's satisfying. I just wish it weren't so hot out. I don't wanna do anything today." Sokka chuckled, eating his fruit. He'd get to the water in a moment. "Like you would do anything today anyway." "So what? I like doing nothing sometimes."

Zuko noticed Katara had used the satchel he'd gotten her, which surprised him to say the least, but in a good way. The water felt so quenching until it was gone, leaving him wishing for more. "More please..." He held out his cup.

Katara smiled and streamed a bit more from the waterskin, filling Zuko's cup up to the brim, "Go ahead, we have plenty." She grabbed one of the melons and started to eat, taking her time as she tried to regain her energy. She didn't know why she was so drained…well, she had taken care of Zuko and herself, and then continued her responsablilities with the rest of the group. But still, she had never felt so tired before. It should've been her being the first one up this morning, but she just couldn't seem to wake.

The prince drank up again and smacked his lips. "Okay Aang, let's train. We'll get started with the harder moves today."

Toph played around with her toes, picking off peeling skin. Her feet looked fine besides all the peeling skin.

Sokka whined about how hot it was while he began packing up his tent.

Aang nodded and stood up, tossing the melon rind into the fire. He gave Katara a gentle pat on the shoulder and winked at her before following Zuko. He was a little excited, but he did his best to keep his emotions in check. He didn't want Zuko snapping at him for getting overexcited. But he looked forward to some of his lessons. They let the day go by quickly and gave him something to do instead of sit and pick his toes like Toph usually did.

Katara followed Sokka's example and packed up her things as well. After she threw them on top of Appa's saddle, she looked around and sighed, "Well…I think I'm going to try and find a place to get washed up a bit. I'm starting to feel a bit gritty from our little adventure…I'll be back in a few minutes." She grabbed a towel and threw it over her shoulders before giving a wave to Sokka. Then, she made her way towards a thin trail in the forest, patting the waterskin on her side for security reasons.

Zuko sat on a giant boulder, watching Aang. He was pondering either which move he'd show him or how ready he is for a move. "Okay. We accomplished control, so now we can move on to the more dangerous moves." The fire prince smirked. "Ever played hot hands?"

Aang shook his head, "Nope, can't say I have. Or if I had, I wouldn't be able to figure it out by the name of it." He rubbed the back of his head nervously.

Katara saw a small spring nearby. It was secluded, quiet, and when she kicked off her shoes and placed a toe in the water, she was delighted to find that it was sun-warmed to a perfect temperature. Feeling self-conscious about herself once again, since Zuko and Aang were around, she undressed down to her swimsuit and stepped into the warm water, giving a relieved sigh as she felt it against her skin. It felt SO much better then the ocean water, it wasn't all salty and cool (and it wasn't trying to kill her). She swam forward to the other end of the spring and rested her back against the rocky cliff that overlooked it. Then, giving a small sigh, she relaxed and closed her eyes for a minute, feeling the icky salt come off of her skin.

"Okay, here's how you play. I make a fireball and toss it over to you." Zuko demonstrated exactly that, throwing a small fireball to Aang. "Now you make it a little bigger and toss it to me. Then I make it a little bigger and pass it back to you. Whoever drops the fire first loses. Got it?" There were some obvious dangers to this game.

Aang caught the fireball between his hands and nodded as he listened to the rules, "Sounds good to me. Let's play!" He let the flame grow a bit larger, using proper breathing, and threw it back towards Zuko, not too hard, but enough so that it wouldn't crash to the ground. 

Katara began scrubbing her arms with her hands, trying to get rid of the salt that continued to cling onto her. "Ugh…it's all over me." She murmured in irritation as she saw the small grains falling into the water. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and dunked her head beneath the water to get her hair wet. Then, surging up towards the surface, she flicked her head back, causing her hair to fly wildly back against her spine. 

After a few turns of this back and forth game, Zuko began to get more competitive, throwing the flame further so that Aang would have to go out of his way to catch it. "You won't win against me."

Aang put on a burst of speed with his airbending and caught the flame, enlargening it before sending it soaring back towards Zuko, "Oh yes I will!" He cried out joyfully, really enjoying this fun, yet dangerous game.

"So you think!" Zuko made the flame a lot bigger, shoving it onto Aang with a victorious laugh.

Aang took a wide stance as the large fireball headed towards him and he spread out his hands as far as he could. The flame stopped before it could hit him and sweat ran down his brow before he pushed his arms inward and forward, sending the ever-growing flame back towards Zuko.

Katara finished rinsing her hair and once again was lying back against the rocks. She needed some time to herself to relax and think. Well, mostly the relaxing part. She felt she deserved it after working her butt off trying to take care of the group. The reponsabilities were really taking over, and she felt like she barely had any time to sit back and enjoy life. This was one of those rare times.

Zuko took a stance similar to that of an earthbender in order to receive the huge flame that was passed on to him. "I won't lose!" He amazingly split this huge flame into three smaller ones, throwing them in Aang's general direction.

Aang's eyes widened in shock, but he kept his cool and grabbed one flame at a time before combining them all. He then separated them into two large ones and leapt into the air, throwing them both towards him at the same time, but coming at different sides of him.

Zuko smiled, catching both with ease. He was pretty talented with fire. The flame combined into one gigantic flame which he held up. "I think this is a tie. We should break it down before it burns anything. Good work Aang." He split it again, giving Aang the larger piece. He worked on putting out the flame he had taken which was more of a task than it would seem. "This is the real challenge. Not burning everything down."

Aang gave a slow nod and breathed calmly and easily, watching as the flame slowly began to shrink in size. Sweat ran down his brow, from the effort and the heat radiating off of the fireball, but it didn't go out of control. Within a few minutes, the flame had died down to a manageable size.

Zuko watched as the Avatar surpassed him with amazement. How that kid got it so quickly was beyond him. He made sure all of the flames were put out before wiping his sweaty brow. "You don't even need me. You're really good at this." He was starting to feel a little drowsy from the terribly hot weather. _A break is in order. I need more water._

Aang frowned, "That's not true. I really need your help. I'm just doing the best I can." He saw Zuko stagger a bit and he went to the teen's side, "Let's get back to camp, we can both use a bit of rest. That took quite a bit of energy." Sweat was running down his brow. That little "game" was quite a workout.

"Feeling a little tired?" Zuko said it teasingly, but he was obviously kidding. "Let's take a break then. Maybe we can get some lunch soon. How do you guys only eat fruit for breakfast? I mean, at least a pastry as well or something." He wished so much they could stay in a town, but he knew the dangers to that. Especially with him in the group. His face was plastered all over, either as an icon or as a fugitive. He began walking back with Aang, brushing his damp black hair aside.

Sokka snuck up on a rather large rabbit-like... thing. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but it was certainly not a baby of something else and it definitely was lunchable and dinnerable. Steady... Steady... "HAAA!" He came down, tackling it with his sword. The fight ensued. The rabbit-thing began using its retractable claws -- so it was a cat-rabbit-- which hurt. But Sokka won in the end, although a bit torn up. He came staggering back to camp with his bloody prize and his bloody self. "... ow..." Toph stared in Sokka's general direction. "You okay?" The warrior nodded, as if Toph could see that. "Yep... got lunch and dinner. And maybe some jerky..."

Aang smirked, "Well, we really can't buy everything. We're living on a tight budget, since we move around so much. There's really not much we can do for work, and Katara's been making sure we don't pull off any scams." He chuckled and stopped as they arrived at camp, seeing Sokka all scratched-up. He frowned at seeing the dead animal in his hand and quickly looked away, "Please cut that up somewhere else…" he murmured, obviously disturbed.

After Katara finished cleaning up, she sent the remaining droplets of water on her skin shooting outwards in order to dry herself off. She then wrung out her hair, using the towel to help dry it out more, and threw her clothes on. She smiled, satisfied, and walked towards the camp, whistling a small tune as she walked.

Sokka moaned. "Not all of the blood is his; he got me pretty good Aang! It was KILL or be KILLED. That's the kind of world we live in. It's just the way things are... I feel woozy." Zuko took a look at the animal. "Only idiots would go after a Cat-rabbit with just a sword. You're lucky to be alive." Sokka glared at some place not exactly where Zuko was standing and pointed at it. "Thanks Zuko." He fell on his back comically. "You need me to get Katara? ... Sokka? Is he okay?" Zuko took this moment to give him a few firm pokes in the side with his foot. "Hey Sokka.. Sokka.. Sokka." Sokka opened his eyes. "STOP THAT! I'm FINE! ... I think. Don't get Katara. She's bathing. She'll come back soon." Toph perked. "Actually she's arriving right on time! It's okay Sokka, your sister will kiss your booboos." Toph made annoying kissy noises. "I don't need her to kiss my booboos! And they're not BOOBOOS! They're warrior wounds!"

Katara stopped and blinked as she saw Sokka lying on the ground, covered in large scratches. She saw the dead cat-rabbit in his hand and smacked herself in the forehead, "Please don't tell me you hunted that thing…Augh, you should've realized it was dangerous!" She groaned in frustration and went to his side. As she knelt down on the ground beside him, she streamed the water out of the waterskin and had it coat her hands. Slowly she began to heal the cuts on him.

Sokka groaned. "It has retractable claws. It just looked like a giant mole rabbit to me until I fought it. It was eating GRASS! Ow ow ow! Watch the warrior wounds!" Zuko shook his head. "They look nothing like mole rabbits. Idiot." Sokka's face twisted to a grotesque frown. "You're not getting any then." The prince rolled his eyes. "Sure, let it spoil. Good idea." Sokka shook his head. "JERKY!" Zuko shrugged. "I don't care. I'm not even sure it's very edible. Anything related to a cat tends to be really gamey."

Katara rolled her eyes as Sokka complained, "Hey, stop being a wimp and let me finish, you're almost done." She frowned at the two guys arguing and lifted her hand to stream the water back into the waterskin, "Alright, you're all set. I can clean and cook if you want me too." She held her hand out towards the rabbit, motioning for Sokka to hand it over.

Sokka grudgingly handed it over. "But I wanted to skin it..." He sighed sadly, knowing he was in no shape to do something as forceful as skin an animal. Besides, Katara had gotten really good at it since she learned how to slice with waterbending. "I want to make the skin into something though. Do you know how to skin it right so I can use the fur? Er.. So you can use the fur?" Sokka didn't really know how to make it leathery, that was something Katara did. He was going to get lectured for that comment.

"Okay... Nevermind, you're even better at skinning and tanning than I am." He grumbled sadly.

Katara smirked, "Of course I can skin it right. And I don't need the fur, you can have it." She brought the animal over to a corner of the clearing so no one would have to see her skin it. She used the water in her satchel like a flexible knife, sharpening the edges of the liquid so that it gave a clean swipe between the hide and the meat. When she was done, she was left with a nice sized hide, and then she began cutting off pieces of meat of the animal before putting it into a pot to wash and separate for cooking purposes and Sokka's jerky.

The fire prince went out of his way just to watch Katara as she prepared the meat. He'd never personally seen how meat was prepared before. His meat mostly consisted of fish first of all, considering he was born and raised in an island nation. And secondly, being a prince, he never had to prepare much for himself. "Wow... That's so gruesome." He commented quietly, as if he didn't want to disturb Katara.

Katara noticed that it became a bit darker around her and she looked up to see Zuko standing behind her, watching her prepare the meat. It was his shadow that fell across her, so she moved a bit to the side to work in the light. She could hear him muttering and she sighed, "Yeah, it's not too pleasant, but someone has to do it. I'm used to this kind of stuff though. I had to cook quite a bit back in the Southern Water Tribe." She cut of the last bits of meat from the bones and turned to Toph, "Hey, would you mind making a small hole where I could keep these bones? I don't want to toss them into the woods. Who knows what kind of creatures snack on these things at night?"

There's an easy answer to that Katara, troublesome creatures." Toph kicked the ground and a hole appeared beside Katara. "That good enough for you?"

Zuko continued to watch curiously. "I guess you wouldn't use those bones for broth because of Aang. How do you make broth out of... vegetables?"

Katara used some water to throw the bones into the whole and smiled at Zuko, "Very very carefully." She went over to the pot full of meat and poured some water into there. Then, waving her hand in circular motions above it, she stirred the water, cleaning off the bloodied meat as well as she could. When it was clean enough, she pulled the water out and purified it by separating the water from the junk it collected. Then, turning to the hide, she set on cleaning that as well in order to prepare it for tanning. 

Zuko seemed confused. "Carefully? That doesn't make sense." The blind earthbender laughed. "It's not supposed to." Zuko then seemed slightly irritated. "But I asked seriously. How does one make broth out of vegetables?"

Katara rolled her eyes, it was obvious that he wanted to try and make soup once again, "You just start boiling the vegetables and let them simmer for a while. The nutrients and fibers in the vegetables thicken the water, sometimes you may have to strain it to get a bit of access water out, but that doesn't happen too frequently." She smiled, "I can tell you want to give soup another try."

He nodded, not originally having had the idea, but being plenty alright with giving it a try. "I'll make the soup. Can I have some drinking water for Aang and I too?" The prince began pulling out some vegetables from the bag of food and scratching his head. He wasn't even sure which vegetables were broth vegetables and which to cut and so forth, so he looked at Katara once more.

Katara nodded and poured some water into two cups for him and Aang before setting them aside for when they wanted it. She then finished washing the hide and, seeing Zuko's helpless look, chuckled softly before separating the vegetables, putting the ones he could use closer to him and packing the others back up.

"There, that ought to do it. You're on your own now, Zuko, I have to finish Sokka's fur." She grabbed the hide and a large enough container for it, settling with the second largest pot they had, and went over towards a few oak trees. She held her hands out in front of her and closed her eyes, drawing a little water from each tree, absorbing the acids within them that would help with the tanning process. When the container was filled, she placed the hide skin-down on top of the water so that the fur would be unaffected. Satisfied with her work, the Waterbender lifted the pot and set it next to Appa, who looked at her with a bored expression.

Zuko looked at Toph with the vegetables he'd been given. "Um..." Toph snorted. "Don't look at me. I don't know how to cook. My parents said I was too blind and helpless to learn, and that I'd always have a cook so I didn't need to learn anyway." The prince frowned. "My father told me it was below me to cook my own food." Toph smiled. "Mine too, but my mother insisted it was important to know just in case, since it's so essential to living. See any hypocrisy in there?" Zuko chuckled. "So, if you're ever in such an emergency, oh well."

Sokka scoffed at the two rich people and began instructing Zuko on how to properly prepare the soup.

Katara went over to Aang's side. The kid was lying on Appa's head, staring up at the clouds. Smiling, the Waterbender sat next to him and leaned back, holding her upper body up with her arms as she gazed up at the sky, "What are you looking at, Aang?"

The Airbender smiled and pointed up at a lone cloud in the sky, "That cloud. It looks like Appa."

Katara gazed up at it, and smiled, noticing the resemblence, "Yeah, it sure does…" She rested on her back and watched as the puffy white cloud slowly moved in the sky, changing its appearance every so often so that the two of them had fun distinguishing what it looked like.

"How can the cloud remind you of ANYTHING? I don't get it." Toph scratched her head, joining Katara and Aang. "I mean, you can't touch them. How do they look like anything?"

Katara sighed, "It's complicated. I'm not sure how I could explain it to you…" She gazed up at the cloud, and it had changed once again. Her heart skipped a beat and she closed her eyes tightly before opening them again. Her mother's face stared down at her, appearing as she remembered. Katara felt tears well up in her eyes and she turned to lay on her side, tearing her gaze away from the image, "I'm just…seeing things…" She murmured to herself as she closed her eyelids to blink away the tears.

Aang felt Katara turn beside him and he placed a hand on her shoulder, "Hey…are you alright?"

She gave a small nod, and wiped her eyes, "Yeah, I'm fine…"

Toph left it alone, even though she knew Katara was lying. _Sometimes it's best to keep your mouth shut. Why has Katara been so depressed lately though?_ That was constantly gnawing at the blind girl's stomach. _She wasn't this bad before she and Zuko were stuck together for a day. What happened then? _She was pretty sure Zuko wasn't exactly the cause of it, but it still made her somewhat uneasy. He honestly liked her and she (although sometimes doubting herself) honestly liked him.

Zuko finished the soup. The only thing left was to wait, so he walked over to where everyone else was and stood on the perceived outer edges of the group. He didn't notice Katara was sad. Sokka also joined them, noticing Katara seemed sad. "Katara? Are you okay?"

Katara tightly shut her eyes and murmured, "I said I'm fine…" Before sliding down off of Appa's head. She avoided everyone's gaze and sat on a log by the fire, staring into the flames as she tried to ignore the feeling of everyone's eyes on her. She felt so overwhelmed…It seemed that no matter what she did, she ended up doing more work then she really should. She felt it taking a toll over her mind and body. The nightmares were starting to come back, she was sleeping in, her emotions were going out of control…She wanted it to stop, but she couldn't figure out how. Not even her relaxing bath could ease all the tension in her. A shiver ran through her body and the Waterbender rested her forehead on her arms and closed her blue eyes once again, feeling the tears roll down her cheek.

Zuko looked at Aang first to see his reaction. Aang was sort of nervously flipping out, wondering what to do. Sokka was being slow to the uptake, probably still woozy from his idiotic hunting episode. Toph didn't seem to care. If the prince did nothing, he was certain Aang would come to her aid followed by Sokka. But he was impatient and came to her aid before them. 

The prince sat beside her on the log quietly, keeping his arms at his sides to leave himself open to the crying young waterbender. He was right about how he thought she'd look when she cried. It was most heartbreaking. Concern writ on his face, but he tried not to be overbearing like those other dunderheads. It just wasn't his style.

Katara felt someone's presence next to her as she cried, but she didn't look up. She just leaned into them, whoever it was, not really caring who, as sobs wracked her body. She tried to be strong…tried to hold the tears back, but she couldn't. Her emotions were taking over. She was a total wreck, and the only way she felt she could help herself was to cry. 

Aang's teeth were clenched as he gazed at the two, wondering what he could do to help. He had never seen her so broken down before. She was just fine a few seconds ago…then when she looked at the cloud, everything just happened…He shakily got down from Appa's back and scrambled to the other side of Katara. He sat next to her and rubbed her back gently, whispering, "It'll be alright…"

Zuko wrapped his arms around Katara, draping them gently across her and not enveloping her in a full blown hug. When the young lady just leaned in more, he hugged a little tighter, looking at Aang for help. He had no idea what he was even doing. "What's wrong...?" He wasn't scared, but he'd never witnessed someone cry like this. _I thought I was the only person in the world who would break down and cry. I guess not. Maybe everyone breaks down sometimes. Even Azula._ That thought was mildly amusing. _Azula, cry._

Aang saw Zuko's confused look and he gave a light shrug, wishing he had stepped up and gotten to her sooner. Though he would've been in the same position. She didn't give any reaction to them being there besides her leaning against Zuko. He carefully took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Her hand felt cold, despite the warm weather. He gave a start, was there something wrong with her?

Katara felt her mind drifting once again. Her eyes rolled back and she went limp. Her body temperature began to drop at a fast rate, and her breathing became low and shallow.

Aang's eyes widened in shock, "Katara…Katara!" He turned his pleading eyes towards Zuko, "Zuko! What's wrong with her?"

"I- I don'no!" Zuko watched as she went limp in his arms. _Her body temperature is dropping, but why?_ There had to be something he could do to help her.

Sokka frowned. "... Katara?" He went up to his sister and felt her pulse nervously. "The heartbeat is light, but it's steady. Aang, I need some hot water. Toph, I need a blanket. Zuko, ... er.. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I need your help."

Zuko nodded, disregarding the way it was requested. Without much thought, he heated the air around Katara as he embraced her. _But what if that's not enough? What would I do then?_

Toph returned with a blanket and graced it around Katara. "What the heck is going on with her?" Zuko shook his head, trying to come up with some answers. She was losing heat. He was a master of heat and flame. He had to know something. _Something._

Aang's heart sank. What the heck was going on? She was fine…she was smiling and everything just a few minutes ago. "What did she do this morning…she woke up…gave them all some water…took a bath…healed Sokka…Wait…her bath!" without another word, he seemed to have vanished as he raced towards the direction that she had come from when getting back from her bath. He looked at the now-salty water and frowned before drawing some out and bringing it in droplet form to the camp. He tried to hide the fear in his voice, but it still squeaked a bit as he spoke, "Do you think she's been…poisoned?" He took the ball of water and placed it in a glass before sealing the top off with ice.

Sokka instructed Zuko to lay Katara down and for him to lay with her, and not to get any funny ideas, and placed the heavy blanket over both of them. "Keep my sister warm. Do that firebender thing of yours and keep her warm." Sokka and Zuko looked over at Aang and listened to his question. "That makes no sense Aang, we're in the middle of nowhere so no human could have poisoned it. And if it were bacteria, she wouldn't be losing her temperature." Sokka tapped his chin in thought as to how it could possibly be the water from the bath. 

Toph sat on the ground and hit it with her hand, feeling Katara's vitals and trying to catch any sort of foreign substance in her body. It would only work if it were Earth based, but she had to do something. All she could feel when she concentrated was iron and charcoal, what she always felt when she tried to tell.

Zuko nodded with Sokka. "Yeah Aang, if she's been poisoned I've never even heard of a poison that did this. And I've never read anything about someone poisoning ponds or a pond being poisoned. But the summer can make ponds dangerous bacteria pools. That's why we tend to heat the water before getting in... But she's not sick. That makes no sense. She's losing heat on the inside. I can feel her temperature dropping... Almost as though there is something inside of her that's trying to freeze her." He placed his hand on her heart chakra and Sokka glared suspiciously. "What're you doing?" 

Zuko shook his head. "Chi points, I'm trying to use her chi paths to warm her." Regular warming was barely even phasing her. She was still getting colder. It didn't matter what the temperature was around her so much, so maybe if he gave her his heat inwardly, which he never tried before, maybe she'd warm up. He closed his eyes to concentrate, and he felt her paths and his. He tried to flow the warmth directly into those paths.

Aang took a shuddering breath and sat at Katara's side. He wrapped his arms around his knees and rocked back and forth, feeling helpless and useless as his best friend lay unconscious beside him. His hand was inches away from the side of her face, and he could feel the cold radiating off of her. Through all his wisdom of the nations, he had never seen or heard of anything like this…But maybe there was still something he could do. Avatar Kuruk was a waterbender…maybe it was possible to converse with him in the Spirit World. He voiced this idea to the others, wondering what they would think about it.

"Her chi paths are cold. They're flowing through her body and... therefore-" Zuko paused. "But why would she freeze herself?" Sokka seemed morbidly intrigued by this prospect. "She's waterbending her own body? Freezing it? But it's not a full moon out. That makes no sense.." Zuko shook his head. "... There's a few unsolved cases where firebenders burn to death, but in their sleep. The bed remains only somewhat burnt, but nothing else catches fire. It's almost as if they accidently set themselves on fire from the inside." Zuko looked at Aang and Sokka as he kept his hand on Katara's chest to warm her.

Aang's concern for Katara grew. "But why is this happening? And more importantly, what can we do about it?" He was scared…more scared than he had ever felt before. Was it perhaps something she was doing subconsciously, like he had done when he froze himself and Appa within the iceburg? Was it her body reacting badly to her stress? He told Zuko these thoughts, wondering if that was the case.

"That's... possible I suppose.." Zuko felt himself becoming more aware of Katara's chi. Her life, her feelings, her being... Her soul. Again he closed his eyes. He wasn't sure when this happened, but he was no longer even attached to the outer world. He couldn't hear Aang, Sokka, and Toph speaking anymore. He couldn't feel his own body or Katara's body. "Where exactly am I now?" He said to himself, although not physically. He saw a slightly older woman who looked a lot like Katara, and the words just came to him. "Her mom..? Katara? Are you there? Katara." He felt his own soul becoming bare for Katara as well, if she were aware. It was as if they were... combining or something.. but he wasn't exactly sure.

Aang's eyes widened in shock as Zuko suddenly became very still. At first he was afraid he was facing a similar problem to Katara, but the Fire Prince's breathing was regular and even. He felt extremely confused and even more frightened.

Katara sat in the darkness a few yards away from Zuko. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her legs and her forehead rested against her knees. Sadness and despair were the only emotions she felt. She didn't seem to hear Zuko as he called out her name. She refused to look up, as if afraid that if she saw her mom, she would vanish from her sight once again. Around her, ice began to slowly creep up towards her huddled form.

"This is.. different. Am I inside of Katara?" He looked around curiously. This was something he'd never even heard of, let alone been taught. She appeared in the distance, surrounded by darkness. "Katara!" He ran over to her. "Come back, everyone's worried about you..." He'd never felt so laid bare before. 

If she looked at the prince, she wouldn't even recognize him. His face was clear, his hair was long and tied up in Roku's hair adornment, and he was dressed royally. He had a kind face, not afflicted by a life of pain and suffering.

Katara's head weakly lifted as she heard Zuko's voice. The voice was familiar, but she didn't see the face before, "Wh..who are you?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper. Her eyes had a glazed over look, and the ice began to creep up her ankles, "What are you doing here?"

"What? It's me, Zuko." The boy looked more like a young Avatar Roku than the banished prince she'd come to know. He was dignified and royal. "Listen Katara; you know how we come to you with our problems and you help us? You can come to us too. I'm here for you. I want to be there for you."

Katara looked away and closed her eyes. A teardrop fell down the side of her cheek and froze, "I…I can't. I can't burden you with my problems…" Her shoulders lifted as she hunched over, and she began to shiver, "I tried so hard…to be the strong one. But it's hard…I can barely stand it anymore. Things were so easier before my…mother died…" Her voice broke off and she clenched her teeth, trying to fight back the tears, "I feel like I'm not making a difference…"

Zuko began to feel the cold creeping up on him as well. There was hungry and jagged ice all around them on the ground. _Is the cold swallowing me too?_ "Please Katara; I know life has been hard on you. But you're not alone. You have your older brother and he loves you very much. And your friends. And.. me too, if that means anything.." The ice creeped up on his ankles as well, but he'd had just about enough of this overwhelmingly depressing ice. This was his space too, and he began to warm it up. A wall of warm and soothing fire surrounded them, reflecting in the ice. "My uncle taught me that you can't fix everything alone. You need us as much as we need you, and it's okay."

Katara felt the warmth, and hugged her arms close to her stomach. She then looked up at Zuko and saw her own reflection within his golden eyes. She looked terrible. Her hair fell in thin, messy strands around her face. Her blue eyes were tired and red from crying, and, despite her dark complexion, she looked paler than usual. This wasn't her…she knew it wasn't, but she couldn't help but feel this way. 

"You're right…but I can't help but think about all the times I screwed up…I feel like I've let you guys down. You nearly died a few times because of me…and because of my stupidity, Aang has to try harder to learn Firebending…All this time I've been messing up, and it makes me feel even worse…" She shivered and lowered her head, gazing at the ground. Her forlorn reflection gazed back at her, and above it she could see Zuko. He looked so much different…so much stronger and older.

The noble prince wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to her feet and embracing her. "That's the problem. Thinking like that won't get you anywhere in life. Don't worry about the mistakes you made in the past, but try to see the now for what it is and work on that. We all struggle and we all make mistakes. I.. made a lot of mistakes. I made a lot worse mistakes than yours. And yet you still care about me.." Tears formed in his eyes. "And the least I can do is be there for you too. Don't shut me out. I like having friends.."

Katara's eyes widened as he brought her to her feet and hugged her. His words really got to her…and when she looked up and saw his tears, her heart warmed and she rested her head against his chest, feeling the heat return to her body. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against his chest, allowing warmth to spread back through her arms. The ice melted beneath them, and a small smile came to her face, "Thanks Zuko…" she whispered softly.

Things began returning to normal around them; as normal as being in a spiritual state could be anyway. The air around them was warm and comforting. "No Katara, I still owe you for letting me join the group even after all of the terrible mistakes I made. I told you I wouldn't let you down, and I won't." The prince smiled gently, a hair falling in his face. He rubbed Katara's back, wondering exactly how he did what he did and how they'd return. There were so many jumbled questions going through his head. "I'm not sure how I did this, but I think our chi merged into one. I... don't know what to do now. This is very much unlike controlling lightning." The image of his father attempting to murder him crossed their minds. "... hm... I've got to be more careful of what I'm thinking, don't I... What now...?"

Katara blinked as an unfamiliar scene came to her mind. Ozai shot his hand forward, sending a blast of electricity at Zuko. The Fire Prince quickly threw up his own hand to absorb the lightning and threw the other forward, hurtling it towards the Fire Lord. The Waterbender gave a start as the image faded from her mind. Zuko's father actually tried to kill him…why hadn't he mentioned that before? It's no wonder he was so determined to join their group…he really did have no where else to go…And she was such a fool and treated him so badly when he first teamed up with them…

She shook her head, dispelling the thoughts of the past, and broke away from his embrace in order to take a look at thir surroundings. So they were both in some sort of spiritual state within her mind…How in the world were the going to get out? "I…I'm not sure. You'd think we'd just…wake up or something…but it looks like this isn't the case…" She sighed, "I don't have any ideas, you're the thinking one, come up with something!" She realized this sounded kind of rude, so she added, "…please?"

Zuko let out a chuckle. "You know, I can hear most of what you're thinking". _I hope I'm not thinking anything stupid. Don't think of anything stupid like Azula's-- no no no no... Or unc- stop stop stoop. Ahh.. Hey, meditating every day really does help with this sort of thing. Think about ideas._ "Well, I placed my hand on your heart chakra and put my chi into you. Perhaps your chi displaced into my body, and they've been swirling around within both of our bodies, but haven't actually mixed. Like oil and water. And if that's the case, I should just think about leaving here and you should think about leaving here.. and we'll be all set." He thought very hard about returning to the physical world, but it just seemed like really hard thinking to him.

Sokka touched both of their foreheads. "They're both normal now, but they're unconscious. This is weird. Aang, you're the avatar, tell me what's going on." It had already been almost a half hour since they'd both fallen silent, and they were dead to the world. They didn't have fevers, and neither was cold anymore although both at one point were. It was odd. "Obviously spirit world shenanigans.." Toph replied, listening. "Aang, maybe you can bring them back. What if they crossed into the spirit world without noticing or something? ... Does that sort of thing happen?"

Katara blushed, there seemed to be no privacy in this place. "Alright, I"ll give it a try." She tried to keep her mind blank, but it proved impossible. She found herself looking at Zuko, and seeing clearly the differences in him now. She struggled to keep her thoughts straight, but they went astray on her. He was actually quite handsome…_No Katara! Think clearly! Gah! This is frustrating!_ She began to blush, a sure sign that she was back to her normal self. She quickly looked away and closed her eyes, trying to think about returning to the real world, but nothing was happening.

Aang felt flustered, "I don't know what's going on with them, but I'll do my best to help…" He sat cross-legged beside them and pressed his fists together. Clearing his mind of all worldy thoughts, he felt himself drifting towards the spirit state that the two shared.

"Katara!" Aang saw her and a strange guy standing not too far from each other, and as he took a closer look, one of his eyebrows raised in confusion and he asked, "Zuko? Is that you? Wow, I thought you were Roku for a second there!"

"Roku? Avatar Roku? Why don't you two immediately recognize me?" Zuko didn't feel Aang's thoughts quite the way he felt Katara's. They must not be as connected, which was good probably. He felt his face and then the crown on his head. "Where's my scar! How'd that get there?" A quick memory flashed into Katara's mind, but not Aang's. _"This is a royal artifact. It's supposed to be worn by the crowned prince." Iroh was a prisoner in a dark cell, and he was handing over Roku's crown._ ".. This must be how I see myself, like in my dreams. I don't have the scar, because I'm just a spiritual representation of myself... And I'm wearing this crown.. because I believe.. that one day, I will be a great firelord for my people and for the world."

Katara frowned as the image came into her mind. Iroh…she vaguely remembered the man that allowed her and Aang to escape. When she saw his face, she noticed it was really familiar, like she had seen him not too long ago. But it was impossible…

"So…I guess my real self doesn't look this bad, do I?" She gave a hesitant smile and turned to Aang, "I'm sorry I scared you guys…I don't know what came over me." A frown came to her face, and she hugged the young Airbender, who gladly returned the embrace.

"It's okay, Katara…we know you've been stressed recently…just, try not to do it again, okay?" he asked.

The waterbender gave him a small smile, "Alright, I'll do my best. Do you know how to get us out of here?"

Aang nodded and took both hers and Zuko's hands into his, "It's just like when I came back to my body in the North Pole, only I'll have to bring you guys…which I haven't done before. So hang on tight!" The room faded around them and Katara felt a strange pulling sensation on her before she saw darkness. She could feel her real body once again, and her eyes opened a crack. She felt something on her chest and she lifted her hand to it and her palm met the top of Zuko's hand. Blushing, she lifted his wrist and set it down on the ground next to him, noticing that his eyes were still closed.

Zuko felt really odd, as though he were being pulled and stretched. He then opened his eyes groggily and looked around. "... Am I back...?" He touched his scar, and sure enough it was there. His hair was again a tousled and short mess. He sat up, holding his head in his hand. "We're all back..."

Sokka let out a huge sigh of relief and bear hugged his sister, pulling the blanket off of the two. "Katara! Don't ever do that again! Why do you keep being put in danger!"

Toph let out a soft sigh, smiling. "Good work twinkletoes."

Katara waited for Sokka to finish hugging her before she sat up and rested her chin on her hands for a bit in order to recover from the strange experience. "I'm sorry, Sokka…" she murmured, "I really didn't mean for that to happen…It just…sort of did." She gave a sigh and arched her back to crack the stiff bones on her spine. "I've had enough of these near-death experiences…I seriously need a break." She dramatically fell backwards onto her back and smiled as she saw Aang looking down at her, "Hey, thanks for helping us…" She turned her head to look at Zuko, "And thanks for snapping me out of it…I'd be lost without you guys."

Aang smiled at Toph's praise and he grinned at Katara, "It's no problem. I couldn't NOT help you out." He sat back on the ground and gave a sigh, "You really had us scared there, though…"

Katara leaned her head back and frowned, "I'll try to be more careful with my emotions. That won't EVER happen again, I promise."

Zuko continued holding his head in his hand. "Even as opposite elements, water and fire have a lot in common with each other. It's like my uncle said, we're all connected as one people, and it's only an illusion that we're divided." He looked at Aang strangely before looking down. He wasn't sure if they'd figured it out yet, that he's connected to Aang in unseen ways as well. He didn't know how they'd react to it. It was very humbling and personal information to him, and it felt weird to share it. Forbidden even. And yet his mother's words conflicted with this notion, leaving him confused over it.

"Man guys, what was all that hocus pocus mumbo jumbo about? I still don't get it." Toph just wasn't much to believe in things she couldn't see, especially the spirit world. It wasn't fair for the spirit world to be so visual.

"Agh! The soup!" Sokka went to check on the soup and stirred it. It was alright.

Katara smiled, "Yeah…I guess they do have a bit in common…" She closed her eyes, glad to have her thoughts to herself once again. Her and Zuko did have quite a few similarities between each other. They were both hot-tempered, determined, and had a knack for arguing. They also made a great team…when one was in trouble, the other was there to help. It was strange…yet at the same time, pretty neat.

Aang caught Zuko's strange look and his brow lifted. What was the Fire Prince thinking? At Toph's confused statement, he snapped out of his original thought and gave a nervous laugh, "Well, I really didn't see what went on before I came in, but I managed to find them in a sort of 'spirit state', where their chi kind of came together…it's hard to explain…But I had to help them out because, being the bridge between the spirit and real worlds, I knew how to. I'm just glad that we made it out okay."

I still don't get it. It's not fair. Why is the stupid spirit world something I can't FEEL?" Toph crossed her arms and huffed. "Not that I care."

Zuko decided that Aang hadn't even the slightest clue and hadn't put two and two together but Katara.. did she? He looked at her with a mildly puzzled look, realizing that she had opened her eyes again and was looking right back at him from her spot on the ground. "So.. you're.. feeling better I see. That's good." Zuko nodded with a slightly embarrassed face.

Sokka came back, sitting near Katara. He noticed Zuko looking down at her from his sitting position and looked back and forth between the two suspiciously.

Katara blushed slightly and she broke their eye contact by looking towards the side, "Yeah…I'm feeling much better…" A relieved sigh escaped from her lips and she placed an arm over her stomach as she stared up at the cloudless sky. If she had anything to say about Zuko's appearance, she kept it to herself to brood on later. Right now she tried to think about where she saw his Uncle before…it was after the fight in Ba Sing Se…that much she knew…but she couldn't remember. 

Aang sighed, not knowing how to answer Toph's question. But since she acted like she didn't care, he turned his attention towards Sokka and the soup and asked, "Is the food almost done? I'm starved."

"Well YOUR part is almost done. But the meat hasn't even been started yet. I guess I'll go start the meat. I'm feeling better anyway." Sokka got up again, almost tripping over himself but regained his balance on his way over to the ignored meat. He began to prepare it further, leaving the hide to Katara whenever she felt well enough to continue it.

Zuko watched at Katara was pondering something, but he left it alone in fear of what it was exactly. He was feeling very tired anyhow, and so he laid down on the ground spread out. It had gotten hotter, and yet he didn't feel sticky like he usually did. _Water? Maybe. Where was that water I'd asked for but never drank?_

Toph began picking at her toes. "Maan I'm sweating like a pig." Zuko looked over at her. "You smell like one too When's the last time you bathed?" Toph thought about it. And thought some more. "I dunno. Sometime before we invaded the firenation on the day of black sun. I think it was one of those days I had nothing better to do."

Katara closed her eyes and made a disgusted face at Toph's comment, "Ugh…I was wondering what that smell was…you seriously need to consider bathing again. Why can't you follow Zuko and my examples? We try to wash up whenever necessary. I don't know how you can stand all that dirt and sweat." She stretched her arms above her head, not motivated enough to push herself back up. As she placed one hand back on her stomach and the other behind her head, she saw Momo rush up to her and settle right beside her. He was purring contentedly.

Toph gave her armpit a good sniff and made an intrigued face. "Wow, I smell pretty bad." She chuckled, thinking it was pretty funny. "You should bathe before Katara and I force you too." Zuko was not amused. The blind earthbender laughed some more. "I'd like to see you try. I'd kick both your butts."

Katara sat up in indignation, "No you wouldn't! On my own I could best you!" She folded her arms over her chest and fumed. She wasn't going to have a 12-year old girl brag that she's stronger than her. Toph was a great Earthbender, granted, but Katara had confidence in her abilities, "You need to take a bath, and if we have to, we will make you take one."

Toph sighed, giving up. "Fiiine, I'll take a bath. If you guys insist SO much." Toph put her hands on her hips. "We really do." Zuko looked at her with all seriousness. "Fine FINE." Toph took her bag and stalked off.

_Wow, that was easy_. Zuko watched at she left and then looked at Katara with a shrug. _Wait, water. Right._ He got up, got his cup of water, and then sat back down again to drink it. "Aww.. It's warm now..." He set it aside, disgusted.

Katara smirked and watched as Toph walked away. She then turned to Zuko and, chuckling softly at his complaint, took the cup in her hand and gently blew a bit of frosty air on the water, cooling it off enough for him to enjoy, "Here, try this." She passed the cup back and sat down beside him. She began to stare at the fire, watching as the flames flickered brightly, licking the sides of the soup pot as they heat up the food. Fire was dangerous…but it could be so neat at times as well. It gave warmth…it provided light…in a lot of ways it was beneficial. She used to think of it only as a means for harming others. But lately, her views have changed.

The prince smiled softly and began drinking the water. "That's a really useful skill." The water was delicious and very thirst quenching. "So.. I see you're feeling better.. To be honest I didn't know I could do anything like that. I thought only the Avatar could willingly cross into the spirit world.." Zuko looked at Aang and then watched the fire. He idly wondered how the soup was doing and went to check it.

Katara blushed slightly, "Thanks…I'm feeling much better." As he went to check on the soup, she rested her chin on her hand and looked out of the corner of her eye at Aang, "Yeah…that's strange…But were we really in the Spirit World? It seemed more like…I don't know…it was within my own mind or something. I don't understand how you could've talked to me in there…" A frown came to her face, she barely understood any of this kind of stuff. What happened happened, and she didn't want to brood on it too long. 

Zuko stirred the pot and took it off the flame. "The soup looks done." _Aang's being quiet. Is he alright? Usually he talks a lot._ "I think we were spiritually one being... I hope it didn't have any adverse after effects. I don't think it did." He rubbed his face and then poked his scar. _Except for the fact that Katara probably knows too much about me now. I hope she didn't find anything embarrassing._

Toph stood in front of the massive blob of trickling vibrations which she could tell was water. She hated water. She stood there for several long moments before heaving a great sigh and heading back. "NO WAY. What was I thinking? I'm not that dirty. I don't even know how deep it is. No. No way. I can't see in there." She walked back to the group and sat down angrily beside Aang.

Aang looked up at Zuko and Katara, and frowned before looking down at the ground. He had no idea what happened…none at all. And he was the Avatar. He should've known what Zuko did, but he was as lost as everyone else there. It made him feel kind of useless…he panicked when Katara was in danger, and Zuko was the one that saved her. How was he supposed to save the world when he couldn't even save his friend? His eyes narrowed, he was going to have to train harder than ever before. When he felt Toph sat next to him, he could sense her anger and he lifted an eyebrow, "Hey, Toph, what's wrong?"

Katara turned and had a glare on her face as she looked at Toph, "Back so soon? There's no way you could've taken a bath that quickly. And you're not even wet!"

"Hey, I'm not going in there! I can't see!" Sokka placed another pot on the fire. "Oh I get it. You can't swim... So you want someone to come with you." Toph scratched her head. "I guess if you come with me I can safely bathe." Sokka began stirring. "But I'm cooking right now."

A slight frown came across Toph's mouth. "Oh, that's too bad then. It's too dangerous for me to take a bath alone and Sokka is busy. Maybe later then." Zuko raised his eyebrow at this but looked away. It wasn't really any of his business anyway.

A vein twitched over Katara's eye as Toph gave her excuse. "Fine! Take a bath AFTER we eat, but you're going to get clean! I'm not going to be stuck with you smelling that way!" Folding her arms over her chest, she waited for the food to get done. 

Aang snapped out of his thoughts and stood up to check on Appa. The bison gave a welcoming growl as he walked up to him and licked his face. Laughing, Aang pet the bison on the head and wrapped his arms around his fuzzy face, "I love you too, buddy. I can't wait until my next lesson. That last one was a blast." He said it loud enough for Zuko to hear.

"After lunch we'll continue our training, and it'll be a lot of hard work." Zuko smirked. "I'm not sure it'll be as fun as last time though." He personally couldn't wait for that meat to finish stewing so he could eat and then return to training with Aang. It was only getting hotter and during midday he was glad to be resting in the shade.

Toph was glaring at Katara's figure. She was contemplating something but decided to hold her tongue. _She's so lucky I'm cool headed otherwise I'd mess with her over the way she's talking to me._ In her irritation Toph decided to walk off about ten feet. She began playing in the dirt, making it interact with her by shaping and losing shape. It was dusty, so she in turn became dustier. On purpose? Probably.

Katara continued to glare at Toph, knowing the Earthbender was getting herself even more dirt-covered to peeve her. She took a calming breath and rested her chin on her arms. Why did she have to be so difficult? Would it kill the girl to take a bath every once in a while? The Waterbender groaned softly, she shouldn't worry about it…

Aang smiled, "Well, at least it'll be more fun than sitting around doing nothing." He placed his hand on his stomach, which was growling softly, "Hey Sokka, when's the food going to be done?"

"The meat part, 10 minutes. The soup is cooling off a bit." Sokka looked at Toph and then at Katara. Were the two arguing again? He noticed something else. Looking up, he saw a black cloud drifting in the air. ".. I hope that's not trouble.. Can't it wait ten more minutes? I'm starving."

Zuko glanced in the direction Sokka was looking. "I'll go check it out." He took his broadswords with him to figure out exactly where that black smoke originated from. He believed it was too small to be anything like a firenation ship, but it was large enough to be from a motorized vehicle. Toph brushed herself off. "I'm coming too." She didn't feel any vibrations, but perhaps if she accompanied Zuko she could be of some help.

Katara sat back, "You guys go ahead, I've had enough of being a trouble magnet for the time being. Be careful though." She said with concern. She stood up and went over to Aang, "Hey, are you alright? You're really quiet today…is something bothering you?"

Aang looked at her and shook his head, "No…nothing at all." He gave her a timid smile, and Katara frowned, "I know you're lying. Tell me what's wrong."

Aang sighed, "Well…when you were…freezing yourself. I felt like there was nothing I could do. I panicked…and Zuko…well…he did his best to help you out, and I felt completely useless. I never want to experience that feeling again…I want to be able to keep you safe." He wiped away a tear.

"Aang…it's fine. You're still a kid, you don't need to know everything about this world and the spirit world in order to make a difference. You're doing it now by learning, and helping us in any way that you can." She gave him a gentle hug, "Just don't fret about it. I'm fine, and I'll be okay. I'm tough."

Toph walked ahead of Zuko. "So... I see you're fitting right in with our gang. It was a rough start, but you've shown that you've got stuff, and I think everyone admires that about you." The prince followed behind, fingering his broadswords. He smiled at the compliment. "You really think so?" Toph continued. "And I see you're friends with Katara now too." "Yes. It was difficult but we're finally friends." Toph stopped short. "There's people down there. What do you see Zuko?" Zuko looked over Toph's shoulder. "I don't see anything. Let's get a closer look." He ran off ahead of Toph and finally caught sight of these people after about a minute of brisk and sneaky jogging. There weren't many of them. They just appeared to be travelers who were making a huge camp fire.

"Hey there spy guy!" The tall man wearing a flower hat waved. _Oh no, I've been spotted._ Zuko came out of the brush and looked around. "I wasn't uh... spying... I'm.. er... a traveler." One of the two women smiled. "That's great. We're also travelers. Are you alone?" Zuko shook his head. "No, I'm traveling.. with.. um... some people." Toph walked over to Zuko's side. "I'm Toph and this is Zuko." The nomadic group watched the two for a moment. "Hey... ARE YOU BLIND?" The fat jolly man said. Toph made a face. "Yeah. What of it?"

"Wow, one of my brother's cousins are blind. I forget which one though." Toph raised a brow. _Not much in the brains department._

Katara grabbed Aang's wrist and pulled him behind her, "Come on, we can continue our healing lessons. I think we're ready for the next lesson."

Aang smiled, "Yeah, let's do that." He beamed at the idea of being able to continue lessons with her. They were beginning to get few and far between. He almost mastered Water and Earthbending, his time has been focused so much more on Firebending, that he hadn't really had time to practice with Katara and Toph as much. Although, he wondered how they were going to advance in their lessons. He healed the trees and plants well enough…

"Alright, sit down…you're probably not going to like this too much, but it's necessary." Katara drew some water from the waterskin Zuko gave her and she had Aang take some before she took a smaller stream herself in order to freeze it to a sharp tip. Clenching her teeth, she pressed the tip of the icicle against her thumb, creating a tiny cut on her finger before she held her hand towards Aang, "Now, heal the wound using the lessons I told you before. Remember, start at the bottommost layer and work your way upward."

Sokka finished cooking the meal all by himself. "... Hey guys, dinner is-- ... I'm alone? Guys!" He looked around. He was really left all alone. It was odd. "Great."

"Well... We should really get going now. Nice meeting you guys." Toph pulled Zuko off. The guy in the flower hat objected. "What's the rush? We've only just met." Zuko pushed him out of the way when he got in the way. "Listen, we've just got to go." Toph added "Yeah, we're late for lunch."

The man then let them go with a frown. "Man, you guys are such schedule freaks. Peace be with you then."

And so the two bewildered travelers left the other travelers to head back for their own campsite.

Aang did as he was told, and soon Katara's finger was completely unmarked. She smiled and looked it over, pressing it gently with the thumb and forefinger of her other hand, and nodded in approvement, "Good work, pupil. I believe we killed enough time, let's go get something to eat."

Aang smiled and nodded, "Yeah, sounds like a good idea to me." He shot a blast of air up at himself in order to lift himself up to his feet and he helped the Waterbender up. The two smiled at each other and then walked back towards the camp, ready for their meal.

Once everyone was assembled with there food, Sokka decided to share something with them. "Why does EVERYONE think it's okay to just LEAVE ME?"

Toph shrugged. "You weren't alone when we left. So technically, only Aang and Katara left you." She began eating slowly, savoring the soup which was a group effort. "You know what I mean!" Sokka ate his food with a grudging look on his face.

Zuko had taken his food and sat near Appa some distance away from everyone else. It was a habit he'd gotten used to. He ate his food quietly, not participating in the conversation.

Katara ignored Sokka's question and she watched as Zuko went to seclude himself away from everyone else. Frowning, she took her bowl and went over to sit by him, "Hey Mr. Antisocial, why don't you ever want to eat with us? It's not like we're going to bite or anything."

Aang grinned sheepishly at Sokka, "We left you alone because we figured you were tough enough to keep an eye out on the camp while we went and trained. It wasn't like we left you completely alone. You had Appa and Momo."

"You're right Aang. Thanks for looking out for me." There was so much sarcasm in Sokka's one statement. His eyebrows were lowered and his eyes narrowed.

Zuko raised his brow as Katara sat next to him. "Oh... I just.. came here without thinking I guess." He played with his food, swirling his spoon in the hearty meaty soup idly. "I want fish. This meat is so gamey.."

Sokka apparently did not overhear that statement. Luckily.

Toph ate her soup, daydreaming about Sokka saving her from drowning. Although, she didn't want to drown in the first place really, but at least if she did, Sokka was going to be there.

"No problem!" Aang said with a smile, the sarcasm completely lost on him. He took his meatless bowl of soup and began to scarf it down. 

Katara took a bite of the soup as well and made a face, "You're right…that definitely wasn't the best animal to use in cooking…I have no idea how he'd want to make jerky out of it." She ate around the meat and set the bowl down. Then, wrapping her arms around her knees, she looked at Zuko, "So…what did you and Toph find?"

Zuko also ate around the meat, but then finished it with a grossed out face. He knew better than to be picky. _At least it's not rotten. Remember rotten food. It's better than that._ "We found some travelers who were making a big campfire. Nothing much. They aren't a threat."

Sokka ate his soup with no complaints, but toward the end of the meal noticed that Katara and Zuko were sitting beside each other and talking. How could it be that they were such good friends so soon? Why did Katara make friends with people so easily? She was like this with Aang too, except she didn't hate Aang at first.

Toph reluctantly finished the last bite and sat there.

Katara gave a small nod, "Well, that's a good thing. I actually want a day with no people trying to kill us for once. It would be a nice change of pace." She sighed and ran her hand through her hair, untangling a few knots that appeared from earlier in the day.

Aang looked over at Katara and Zuko, watching as they talked. They were getting along so well now…a part of him thought it was nice, yet another part of him was envious once again. He promised Zuko he wouldn't let his jealousy get the best of him…but it was so hard. It looked like Katara really liked Zuko…

Zuko nodded in response to Katara and then placed his bowl with Sokka. "Aang, let's continue training." Sokka frowned down at the bowl which had been handed to him. "Hey, who says I'm the clean up boy?" Toph frowned. "Yeah, he promised to help me bathe." Sokka turned to Toph. "I never--" Toph took his hand and dragged him. "Come on Sokka; I want to bathe before I ruin Katara's nostrils."

Katara's eyes narrowed and she took the dishes, "I'll take care of it, you guys go on ahead."

Aang grinned, "Alright, let's go Zuko!" He grabbed onto the Fire Prince's wrist and pulled him in a direction where he thought the best place to practice will be, "There's a clearing not too far from here, we can practice there." He could hardly contain his excitement. He was really beginning to enjoy his Firebending lessons, it was a great change.

Zuko groaned lightly as he was dragged by a boy to begin some more lessons in the hot and unforgiving sun. When they arrived, he tapped his chin in thought. This wasn't actually a very good place to practice at all. There was dried overgrowth everywhere and it could easily catch fire.

He looked around for a bit and then narrowed his eyes at Aang. "Let's fight. Right now." He didn't even wait for Aang to respond before delivering the first blow, which was a fireball.

Toph and Sokka reached the water hole and took off the majority of their clothing besides the underwear without really speaking to each other. Sokka dove right in, the water quickly reaching his shoulders. Toph was right to be afraid afterall. It was more of a pit than anything. "Come on in Toph. I won't let you drown." 

Toph reluctantly followed while trembling in fear. "Where are you Sokka?" He responded by catching her and helping her in, holding her to make sure the shorter member did not drown. "I'm right here. It's okay." Toph blushed. It was everything she dreamed of. "Thanks for helping me Sokka." She began trying to touch the bottom, but she really couldn't. That would normally scare her, but Sokka was holding her.

Aang's eyes widened in shock and, out of instinct, he shot a blast of air at the fireball to put it out, "Oh…sorry…Firebending!" He quickly retaliated by throwing a few punches forward, sending blasts of fire out of his fists towards Zuko. 

Katara quickly rinsed out the dishes and packed them back up before checking on the hide. She took it out and, realizing it soaked enough, found a tree branch where she could stretch it and have it dry in the sun. With that finished, she sat down beneath the shade of a tree and closed her eyes, waiting for the others to return.

Zuko was fighting Aang as roughly as he ever did, going right for him and trying to knock him off balance. He started with a fierce yell and a voracious combination of fire shots while running towards Aang. The final move to this combo probably wasn't going to be pretty. It didn't appear as though he were holding anything back just because they had become friends.

Aang furiously countered Zuko's attacks with flames of his own and he swiftly ducked and dodged the flames that he couldn't put out. When Zuko was near enough, he ducked low to the ground and shot his fists forward, sending a large blast of fire towards the Fire Prince's stomach. He then sent a sweeping kick towards him, throwing a wave of fire towards the Fire Prince.

Zuko paused the attack, attempting to dodge, but he was thrown backwards by the fireblast. It sent him on his rump, which he promptly got back up from and began a longer ranged attack. He moved his arms in harmony, creating a strong whip of fire which he sent after Aang. So far, neither of them set the area on fire, which was pretty good. Aang had restraint. He wondered if Aang had a temper. _Well, only one way to find out._

Recognizing the attack, Aang used his quick speed to dodge the whip. He rolled beneath the flames and threw his fists forward, sending dual blasts of fire at Zuko's chest. As the whips came down towards him, he threw his arms upward, sending his own flames into the whips, causing them to disappate before they could hit him.

_He's trying to break my route. I didn't teach him that. This kid is amazing._ The prince jumped out of the way and watched in amazement as his advanced attack was reduced to nothing. He cleared this thought and began another attack. He'd have to be stronger if he was to defeat the Avatar now, and he didn't want to use the broadswords as an advantage.

Zuko ran right for him again, creating several waves of fire which were difficult to break, as they were three different attacks and very large, about three times his height and eight feet in length. "I'd like to see you break this attack!" The prince taunted.

Aang crouched as the attacks came towards him and, focussing on the fire itself, pressed his hands together and lunged them right into the flames. As the fire harmlessly flowed around his hands, he threw his hands apart, creating a large enough opening for the flames to pass safely around him. Then, grabbing some of the fire as it passed by, he shot a stream of flames towards Zuko.

The older boy's eyes widened. Aang was too powerful. How did he ever hope of capturing him when they were enemies? He couldn't lose his cool. That would make him lose the fight. A stream of flames came right for him and he stood his ground against it. He crossed his arms and sent one fist upward and one downward to disperse and nullify the flame. _I'll have to use my years of experience and training to win this battle, and not just my strength. Knowing how to break a flame is still knowing only the basics. He's hard to pin but..._

Zuko feigned a punch and got behind Aang, lunging for his back.

Aang watched Zuko carefully as he aimed a punch, he sidestepped and, noticing that Zuko wasn't in his view, quickly spun around with the help of Airbending and fired a large blast of fire towards Zuko as he lunged.

Katara felt herself dozing off, and she murmured, "What's taking Toph and Sokka so long…jeez, you'd think she'd want to get out of the water as soon as possible."

Zuko clapped his hands together, dissipating the blast and using his height as an advantage, grabbing Aang's face and knocking him to the ground. He pinned him with the other hand. "Nice try, but there's more to firebending than strength. If I were your enemy, I could deal a crucial blow and you'd have no way to stop it." He let go of Aang. "Any idea where you went wrong?"

Toph and Sokka came back, both still dripping. Toph was clinging to Sokka with a nervous smile on her face.

Aang sat up and looked down at the ground, "No…I don't…Is it because I'm short?"

Katara looked up when she saw the two coming and she sighed, "About time you guys came back. I was getting bored out of my mind here." She held her hand towards them and pulled it back to pull a majority of the water off of them so they could dry off sooner, "Now was that so bad, Toph?"

"It was bad. If I had gone by myself I probably would have drowned. I couldn't touch the bottom. But Sokka held me the whole time." Toph betrayed a smile. "Yeah, we should probably not leave her alone in the water unless it's a real bath."

The prince frowned. "No. It's because you relied too much on the strength of fire. There is more to fire than strength. Cunning.. You need to think more. Use that brain of yours. Physically I'm stronger than you. Why would you let me get close?"

Katara sighed, "Okay, whatever…at least you're clean now. So, Sokka, what's the game plan?"

Aang tapped his chin, "So I need to think more…And make sure I figure out the enemies advantages and disadvantages so I can fight accordingly…" He sighed, "Looks like I need to learn quite a bit more."

"One basic move you also need to keep aware of is breaking a route. That's how I defeated you. There's a time to dodge, a time to block, and a time to redirect. If you had dodged, I believe we'd still be fighting right now. You're very naturally gifted, but that's limited. Don't solely rely on instincts or power. And that's why we're going to meditate again."

"The game plan is to travel south east. We're circling around to evade our enemies yet stay near the Firenation." Sokka helped Toph sit down and sat down beside her in thought.

Aang closed his eyes, "Okay…I'll keep that in mind…" He sat cross-legged and closed his eyes, meditating on how he could blend the things that Zuko had told him in his Firebending lessons. He breathed in and out deeply and easily as he meditated, feeling his worries dim down a bit so he could concentrate.

Katara nodded, "Sounds good to me." She closed her eyes and smiled, it was so nice having the whole group together. It felt so much safer and she always had someone to talk to if she needed to. But she did miss spending time with Zuko…it really gave them time to get to know each other, and she realized how much they really needed each other's guidance. She recalled the moment in the cave, and blood rushed to her face. Yeah…that probably wasn't going to happen again…

"Hey Katara, what're you thinking about?" Sokka peered at her suspiciously. She was getting googly eyed and blushy over something, and he hadn't seen her act this way since Jet. Could it be? Was she crushing on someone?

Katara jumped with a start and looked over at Sokka. She saw his suspicious look and her blush deepened, "Uhh…nothing! I'm not thinking of anything!" She was a terrible liar…she looked away to avoid his gaze. She could feel his eyes on her, and she bit her lip, how was she going to explain this one?

Toph perked and a wicked smile grew. "You're thinking about something and you don't want us to know what it is."

Sokka's eyes widened. "I knew it! Who are you crushing on?"

Katara's heart beat furiously, "I'm not crushing on anyone! Leave me alone! Augh!" She stood up and stomped towards Appa, feeling the heat rushing to her face. "That's ridiculous! Me crushing on someone!"

Sokka looked at Toph, who was smiling evilly. "You're lying. I can tell. Your heart's beating very fast." Sokka laughed. "Katara's got a cru-ush. Katara's got a cru-ush."

Katara groaned, "I do not! Why in the world would I have a crush on someone! I learned from the last time! There's no one here to have a crush on! Knock it off! Leave me alone! Augh!" Defeated, she collapsed against Appa and murmured something incoherently in his fur.

"Last time?" Toph enquired. "Yeah, she was into Jet remember...?" Sokka pondered this further. "No, I'm not sure she only meant Jet when she said that." Toph thought on this.

Not a moment too soon Aang and Zuko came walking in to this scene. The prince glanced at a flustered Katara and then at the confused faces of Sokka and Toph. He didn't really get what was going on, so he just walked off to be on his own.

Aang blinked as he saw Katara leaning against Appa and he rested a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, Katara, are you alright?"

"Mmph murmph oompuph…" Was all he could hear as she talked through Appa's fur. He gave a disheartened expression and went to sit by the others, "Hey, what just happened? Did I miss anything?"

"Not really." Sokka didn't want to mention it to Aang. He wouldn't understand because he was a kid, plus he was interested in her and Sokka just didn't feel like embarrassing his sister.

Zuko sat by himself, watching the sky. He was deep in thought about something or other.

Katara felt the warmth leave her face and she looked over at Zuko, seeing him alone. Why did she feel that way about him? She hated his guts not too long ago…and now she actually…[I_liked him_/I liked him? No, she didn't…it wasn't true! But it was…She actually had a crush on the Prince…why? Was it because he saved her? Was it because she really enjoyed the time they had together…so much more than any of the others? She was so confused…

"Why do I feel this way..?" she whispered inaudibly.

Zuko laid down in the grass and watched the clouds. He seemed peaceful enough, but his eye showed his mind was a turmoil of emotion, thought, and questions.

Toph felt Katara calm down somewhat, but she still seemed unsettled. Whatever was going on, it was probably not going to be well accepted by the group. She had her suspicions, but for the peace and stability of the group she did not dare speak them out loud.

Sokka watched Katara watch Zuko. He wondered how likely it was that she was crushing on him. _It doesn't seem very likely, but who knows what happened between them in Ba Sing Se and then while they were alone._ Sokka's eyes widened. _What if she really DOES like him? That can't be a good thing._

Aang looked from Katara to Zuko and back again, wondering what all was going on. Everyone was awefully quiet now…Something must've happened when him and Zuko were away, but he would have to ask later. Everyone seemed to have something on their mind.

Katara took a deep breath and plucked up her courage, walking over to Zuko. She sat down beside him and, gently clearing her throat to get his attention, asked, "Erm…Is something wrong? You look like you have a lot on your mind…"

The prince shrugged. "I'm okay." His voice was barely audible. He laid there with one hand behind his head and the other resting on his stomach. The clouds slowly passed by, and he saw images most people wouldn't see. _There's a crying child's face. There's a dragon. That one's my palace. That's a flaming arrow. That's a ship about to be hit by the flaming arrow._ The clouds only distracted him so much from the raging torrent of thoughts which barely kept at bay, hidden under a calm sea.

Katara frowned, "You're lying…tell me what's bothering you. I'll try to help in any way that I can." She looked up at the clouds and, remembering what happened last time, diverted her gaze. Her eyes took in Zuko's scar, and she frowned before looking away.

Zuko looked back, feeling stared at, but then also looked away. "I don't know... Nothing's bothering me." He pulled his knees up.

Katara set her hand on his shoulder, "Zuko, you can tell me. I know something's wrong, and you avoiding the problem isn't going to help you at all."

The boy made a face, glaring up at the clouds as if they had somehow wronged him. He was pouting. "I don't know.. I'm not avoiding anything. I don't need any help."

Katara sighed and stood up, "Okay…I see you don't want to talk about it…but if you need to…I'm here for you." She kept her gaze on the ground as she circled around the other side of Appa and leaned against him, feeling his low breathing beneath her. She frowned and closed her eyes, wondering what was bothering the Fire Prince…and wondering if, if she told him how she felt, he would feel the same too. She had her doubts. He was a prince...she was a peasant from the water tribe...

Katara had broken a seal in Zuko. His emotions surfaced, and he was feeling hurt and angry. His father had let him believe his mother was dead all of these years, but she's been alive. It hurt more than any scar. It ached deeply, creating a pool of sadness within his heart. _I'm always feeling this way. It's not anything anyone can help. I'm used to it by now_. He wanted to tell Katara, to let her know that she didn't have to worry about him, but the words stayed inside and he stayed put.

Katara felt a few tears roll down her face, and her eyes narrowed. She shouldn't be feeling like this…Aang liked her…but…did she like him back? She didn't know…And then there was Sokka…he would be even more overbearing if she told him she liked Zuko…And not to mention Toph…she shuddered. The Earthbender knew…Any slipup on her part, and Toph could make her life miserable. But would she do that? Even so…She closed her eyes, and a picture of Zuko appeared in her mind. She felt her heart beat quicken, Why? Why was this happening?

It was almost as though Toph magically had appeared beside Katara. "Why are you sad?" She spoke softly. She was seriously just trying to help.

Katara jumped, startled, and looked up at Toph. Blinking away the tears, forgetting that Toph couldn't see them, she hugged her arms close to herself and murmured, "Why does Zuko have to be so difficult? Can't he tell that I'm just trying to help? I can't bear to see him so troubled…but he just blocks me out and lets his problems build up. It's hurting him…and I can't stand it."

"It's just the way he is. I'm sure he was raised to believe that exposing weakness is a bad thing. I know if I had Azula for a sister I'd be like that too. It's nothing personal Katara. Just listen. I'll try asking him too." Toph walked over to Zuko and sat beside him. "So, what's bothering you?" Zuko sat up and glared at Toph. "Why is everyone asking me that! Nothing's wrong! Leave me alone!" Toph raised her hands with a calm expression on her face. "Okay, okay.. but I can tell you're lying." Zuko's glare became stronger. "I said go away!" Toph stood up and walked over to Katara casually. "See?"

Katara closed her eyes, "But still…I want to help him so badly…but I can't. I thought he would trust me enough to at least talk to me…" Her eyes narrowed, "It looks as if I were mistaken…" 

"I don't think it's about trust." Toph leaned on Appa. "Like I said, imagine having a family like his. His father is the Firelord. His sister is Azula. And she's such a good liar even I would be fooled by her. I don't blame him for being guarded. I'll bet he's even fooled himself so that he wouldn't give his weaknesses away." Toph wasn't really sure how to explain this to Katara, because she was just so stubborn. "So maybe he's saying nothing's wrong just because he thinks so."

Katara sighed, "If you say so…" She stood up and walked over towards a nearby tree. Forming an ice spear in her hand, she began to sketch a small picture in the trunk, not really thinking of what it was. When the ice melted, and she looked at the image she put in, her eyes widened and her face turned red as she saw the small heart. Looking around to make sure no one saw, she quickly formed another icicle and scratched it out.

Sokka pulled out a rather large map and began poking at it, figuring out where exactly they were and then where they needed to head more specifically. He came up with a more specific plan and pulled Aang aside to talk to him about it.

"There's only a very small amount of towns dotted along the map near us. We then will have to do for at least three, four days until we come to the perfume making abbey a few miles away from Mo Ce Sea. I'm sure the nun's will be just THRILLED to see Zuko again, but we have no choice." Sokka looked over at Zuko, who'd perked at the mention of plans and then frowned at the mention of the perfume making abbey.

"And then we're headed to Makapu village, the village with that fake fortuneteller. Katara's going to be THRILLED to find out we're going to that town again. Great. But it's the only town for miles where we can gather our supplies again. Unless we want to stop by the base filled with the Yuyan archers.. I prefer the stupid town of blind believers.. just barely." Sokka looked at Aang to make sure he was paying close attention. Aang was usually the one who was steering Appa, and Sokka didn't want to have to explain it all again. 

Zuko looked at Aang. So much had changed. He remembered saving Aang from Zhao as the blue spirit; Zhao and the blue spirit weren't even alive anymore. Then he remembered being paralyzed and having to pay the nuns for all the perfume they used and all of the damage that had been done. Which made him cringe.

Aang looked at the route, remembering passing through those areas so many months ago…He remembered every little detail of their adventures in this region as if they happened only yesterday. He smiled at Sokka's sarcasm, he wondered if those areas had changed any while they were gone. Will they meet the same people they had before? Would the villagers and nuns remember them and the good deeds he had done as the Avatar? And how would they react to see the Fire Prince traveling at his side? He sighed, it felt he was about to live through a story that he'd been through before, but the outcome would be different.

At the mention of her name, Katara pressed her hand against the tree to give her a boost forward and walked back around Appa to see what the others were doing. Sokka was pointing to a map, obviously charting out where they were going to go next, and Aang was listening closely. The Waterbender watched for a little bit and took a seat.

"This next week will be THRILLING. Yes." Sokka rubbed his chin, being odd. "Would you stop repeating that word?" Zuko was annoyed in general about the plans, but with Sokka's added childishness it was somewhat unbearable. "Let me see that map." He charted it in his mind, finding that there was no way around the perfume place. He threw the map back at Sokka, who'd been reaching and whining for it back. "Why do we have to go back to that place?" Sokka glared at Zuko. "To get supplies, otherwise we'll starve! What, are you scared to apologize to some little old nuns for wrecking their home?" That was obviously a taunt, which Zuko promptly responded to. "I already apologized! Sort of! I paid for the repairs!" Sokka smiled, enjoying himself. "Oh, good. Then there's nothing to fear." Zuko's eyebrow twitched repeatedly as he silently took this and crossed his arms. It WAS his fault he had to face these angry little nuns, and he'd take it like a man. Or try at least.

Katara chuckled softly at Zuko's nervousness. He had caused quite a bit of damage…no wonder he was a bit uneasy at the idea. But they would vouch for him, she knew Aang would, and she herself would help out as much as she could. She caught herself staring at the prince as he crossed his arms and appeared ticked off at the whole idea. He looked every bit like the hot-tempered prince he was. When she realized that she was staring, she blinked and turned her glance away, feeling her heart beat faster once again.

Aang smiled, "Don't worry, Zuko. I'm sure they won't be too mad. The nuns are very peaceful women. They don't seem like the kind to hold grudges."

"Aang.. I hired a bounty hunter to search and destroy the Avatar, who is the world's only hope for peace and then I trashed their humble and neutral abode in the process. Even the most pious nun might hold a grudge against that." Sokka snickered. "Abode? Who says that?" The prince again glared at Sokka. "What's wrong with sounding intelligent?" The other boy immediately ceased his laughing and pouted.

Aang laughed, "Come on, Zuko. Try thinking more like an optimist, like Katara and I." He motioned with his hand at the Waterbender and himself.

Katara smirked, "I'm only optimistic about 90 of the time…well…recently it's been more of an 80…but hey, I've been working on it." She felt a bit more lighthearted, actually. Ever since she came out of that frozen state with Zuko's help…A small groan escaped from her lips. She couldn't even think without him coming to mind! This was terrible…she hadn't felt this way since…Jet…and she remembered how well that turned out…But there also was another time…back in the cave at Ba Sing Se…Katara quickly shook her head, dispelling the thought.

Toph smiled knowingly, standing in the circle. "Or you could be down to earth like me. These two numbskulls don't have a grip on reality. I mean, even if the nuns are mad, at least they can't beat you up." Zuko raised his brow. "This is true. And since they're neutral they won't report me to the Firenation or sentence me to death for being the prince of the Firenation. I feel a little better already." He was being partially sarcastic, but partially truthful. It amused him to no ends imagining little old ladies trying to arrest him. It would be nothing compared to his sister. "At least they're not Azula." He nodded, sharing his fear for his younger sister with the others, happy that they all felt the same way.

"Yeah, your sister is crazy." Sokka stated this and there was a mutual sense of agreement within the group.

"Okay, anyway... We're leaving tomorrow and we'll be traveling for a day, taking a day's rest at a small town if the schedule allows, and then we'll travel again for a day until we reach the last town for another three days. Then we'll be at the perfume abbey. Everyone understand?" Sokka looked around. Toph raised her hand. "How many bathroom breaks do we get?" Sokka tapped his chin while Zuko glared. "Bathroom breaks?" Sokka's hand shot in front of Zuko, quieting him. "I think two, and if it's an emergency.. three. But try to make it two."

Aang nodded, "It sounds like a great plan to me. We should prepare ourselves for the journey. I'll go get some fruit. We have quite a bit still, but we can never have too much of it." He grinned and, grabbing his glider, tapped it on the ground to spread the bat-like wings and pressed it against his back. With a small wave, he leapt into the air and shot off over the trees.

Katara smiled and closed her eyes as she leaned back and held herself up with her arms. She felt the suns gentle rays upon her face and she gave a contented sigh. They were going to head back to familiar territory. She felt so much more secure now that they weren't in Fire Nation territory, though the time they spent there was a lot nicer than she had thought it would. 

Zuko decided he'd go off on his own again. He didn't really feel like being too friendly or social at the moment, especially with Sokka around. But at least Katara wasn't attacking him anymore. She was actually friendly towards him. It made him feel a little guilty for not being social towards her. It was a little rude of him. He left the group, seeming to go for a walk.

Sokka began to brush Appa's fur and Momo joined in. They'd gotten into this habit ever since Azula had used his fur to track their trail. Toph kept watch, feeling for any suspicious activity.

Katara noticed it had gotten pretty quiet, so she opened her eyes and looked around. Zuko was nowhere in sight. Frowning, she stood up and walked past Toph and Sokka, towards a trail that the Fire Prince most likely had walked in.

_What am I doing! I'm following him! Maybe he wanted to be alone…but I need someone to talk to! Everyone else is busy! And maybe he needs someone to talk to as well…yeah…that's it!_ She quickened her pace, looking around for any signs of Zuko.

Zuko sat at a cliffside, watching the sun as it began to set. The lighting was reddening and the clouds reflected pink and purple. The sun always helped him to feel a little better. It was just always there, even when he was alone. It was always going to be there, even when he died. He felt almost completely relaxed, resting his head on his knees.

Katara stopped in her tracks as she saw Zuko on a cliffside, his head down on his knees. He looked so peaceful…the colors cast a beautiful light through the sky, and she saw them reflecting on the Fire Prince. It gave him a strange reddish orange glow that made him appear more like a Firebender than he ever did before. Smiling, she went over to the cliff side and sat down beside him, not too close to make him uncomfortable, but close enough that she was within arms reach of him.

Zuko hadn't physically acknowledged her presence, yet somehow it seemed he made it known he was fine with her there. Probably because he would have looked irritated if he didn't. There was a long period of peaceful silence between the two as the sun sunk lower and lower into the horizon. "I hate that the sun has to make everything so orange..." He thought of Mai and he missed her. A lot. And yet he wasn't sure how he felt about her either. She wouldn't fight for things she believed in. She never got wild and crazy like him. It alienated him from her.

Katara looked at Zuko and waited for him to respond. When he spoke, she gazed over at the sun and chuckled softly, "Why would you hate something like that? It looks beautiful to me…Especially when the sky has a mixture of different colors." She closed her eyes and leaned back in a similar fashion as she had before, feeling her long hair brush against her arms, "So…is something on your mind? You've been awefully quiet lately…I don't mean to pry. You don't have to share if you don't want to."

"... A lot of questions have been going through my head. Who am I? Am I just a traitor to the firenation? Am I disappointing my people? What am I going to do after my father is dethroned?... What if I have to see him.. die? I know I have to do these things.. but.." He looked away, furrowing his brow with worry.

Katara closed her eyes, "You're not a traitor to your nation, your father is. Your own people live in fear of him and his army, you're doing them a great favor by helping us fight. I know how it feels to watch someone who was a big part of my life die…But…I saw what your father had nearly done to you…I know there's great evil in his heart. I wish I could help you cope with what may happen, but you have to do that on your own." She looked at him and placed a hand upon his shoulder, "You get through this, I know you can."

"You remember all of that? What else did you find out?" Zuko looked at her, not reassured at all.

Katara wrapped her arms around her legs and looked down at the valley below the cliff, "I saw that you bear a strange resemblence to…Avatar Roku…I barely recognized you in there…Are you somehow…related?" She looked up at him, "I remember Aang telling us, after he learned Roku's history, that everyone deserves a second chance…I now know that he was talking about you…"

Zuko's eye widened as he watched Katara. He didn't expect her to react positively to it for some reason, and he felt really exposed. It wasn't something he was ready to openly admit to others because it was just so new to him. "Yes.. Avatar Roku is my mother's grandfather. I found this out recently." Zuko felt reassurance when it seemed predestined yet again that he join Aang. "He knows about how Sozin betrayed Avatar Roku too? And he still let me join him.."

Katara nodded, "He must've seen the good in you…and knew that he could trust you. You don't carry the sins of your forefathers within you. You're able to make your own decisions, and so far you've chosen the right path." She gave a sigh, "It must've been hard for you to stand up to your father and tell him you were joining us…"

"I had decided entirely on it last moment too. I had my armor on and everything. I was going to be the one who the invaders encountered inside of the palace.. but.. I looked in the mirror and I just couldn't take it anymore. I wasn't me, as much as I wanted to be good for my father.. I just.. I wasn't able to be.. because I knew he was wrong.." The prince stretched, watching the sunset again. It felt so unreal to him that he actually stood up to his father.

Katara smiled, "You made the right choice…and I'm glad you did so." She gazed up at the sunset and let the beautiful colors fill her sight. Who would've thought she would be here…sitting with Zuko…watching a sunset. It would've been unheard of a week ago. Not only did he change, but she changed as well…it felt good, yet, something was missing…she didn't know what it was, but she shrugged it off.

"You are? Even after all the trouble I put you through? I've been nothing but a pain in your side... Going after your boyfriend and brother relentlessly..." Zuko closed his eyes, accepting those things about himself

Katara nodded and then froze, "B…boyfriend? What are you talking about?" She lifted an eyebrow. Aang? Aang wasn't her boyfriend…why would Zuko say that? She blushed, remembering Aang and her last kiss. She didn't know what to feel then…she still saw Aang as a child…and herself…well…she just didn't know. She knew Aang liked her, but she wasn't so sure if she liked him back. Was it because of Zuko, and what she felt for him? No…before her crush, she wasn't so sure about hers and Aang's relationship. It was so confusing…

"I was talking about Aang.. So he's not your boyfriend? You two just seem really into each other." Zuko looked at her and saw her blush. "Do you like him?"

Katara stared down at the ground, "I…like him…but as a friend. He's young…I know he likes me…but…I find it hard feeling the same way. I don't know if it's because he's the Avatar…I'm just a distraction to him…but…for some odd reason it doesn't feel right…I treat him like a mother treats a child…it's just…strange." She sighed, "I don't know what to think anymore."

"Oh..." Zuko continued to watch her. Aang wouldn't be happy if he heard that. And he was Zuko's friend, but so was Katara. He wasn't sure if he should try to convince Katara to give him a chance or if he should leave it alone, or maybe comfort her conflicted feelings which she obviously had. _Well, she came to me anyway so... Maybe if I'm silent she'll just change the subject..._

Katara coughed awkwardly and tried to think of something to talk about, "So…What is palace life like? I…never really learned much about it…being a…" She coughed again and murmured, "…peasant, as you put it so long ago…It must be interesting."

"You are a peasant though.. Anyway, palace life is pretty nice I guess. As a prince I'm required to do less than a firelord and I have a lot more freedom to do as I please, but I'm not allowed to walk anywhere or the pagoda servants catch me and insist I ride on the pagoda. I can eat anything I want at any time I please, but there's still breakfast, lunch and dinner. I have to know a lot of manners because important guests frequently are invited to dinner such as governors and really rich snobs... I can get a haircut whenever I wish without leaving the palace.. Actually, I don't have to leave the palace for anything unless I wish to visit someone." Zuko had a lot to say for once. Maybe he really was warming up to Katara. Normally he'd answer something like "it's okay I guess".

Katara closed her eyes and listened, images of the Fire Lord's palace appearing vividly in her mind. When he finished, she frowned, "It must've been lonely…and not being able to go outside for long…I don't know how you could stand that. Are you…glad that you joined our group? It must be a great change of pace." She gave a small chuckle, "I remember when I was still living at the South Pole…I was so bored doing the same thing over and over again…and now it seems that new and interesting things happen every day."

"Yes and no... I'm glad I'm helping to overthrow my father and helping to bring an end to the war. But I don't like traveling that much. I was content staying in the palace and preparing to rule my nation one day. But when I had come back after being banished for three years it was hard to get used to again. Meetings, tutors, servants bugging you left and right. Hot towel, prince Zuko? Care for a drink of water prince Zuko? May I make your bed prince Zuko? Forgive me for interrupting your highness, but blah blah blah... They're so annoying. So I guess it's good that I'm not constantly bothered. And I got to make some friends who don't like me for my title." Zuko pulled his hair out of his eyes, turning his attention to the sunset again.

Katara smiled as she looked at him, and saw the golden sun reflecting in his eyes. She looked away shyly, "I know one thing…I'm glad you joined us…I don't know where we'd be right now if Aang never found a Firebending teacher…and you've been such a loyal friend…even when we ran into rough times." [I_Just tell him, Katara...Tell him how you feel._/I She opened her mouth to say something, but the words got caught and she closed her lips, turning her gaze to the sun instead as a dim shade of red came to her cheeks.

"... Yeah..." All of that talking about the palace and loyalty got him thinking about his mother. She was out there somewhere and he had no idea if she was doing well or not. And his uncle was out there somewhere too. The two people he cared about most and he turned his back on them to train Aang, whom before recently was his sworn enemy. He had to find them somehow. Sokka had all these plans about where they were going, but Zuko just wanted to scour the earth endlessly until he found them. _I'm not really that loyal, am I._

Katara closed her eyes as another peaceful silence came between the two. He appeared unmoved by her statement. Did he really care that she enjoyed his presence? No, probably not…she gave a sad sigh and gazed down at the ground. Why was it so hard for her to reveal her feelings to him? Was she afraid he would laugh at her, or turn her down? She was a peasant after all…and she knew he had feelings for Mai…He said so himself….but…had that changed? There were too many questions…too many results that could come out of her comment. She needed to save it for the right time.

"... After Aang finishes learning firebending.. I should probably leave until you guys fight my father." He looked away, hiding his face from her as if the trees nearby were very interesting.

Katara's eyes snapped open and her heart sank in her chest. She immediately leapt to her feet and clenched her fists before stepping forward in Zuko's direction, "What! You can't do that! We still need you! We need all the help we can get! Why would you want to leave! Is it something I've done?" The words tumbled out of her mouth as she tried to overcome the shock at his words. She didn't want him to leave…she loved him…but he didn't know that…if he did, would he change his mind? Probably not…and it wasn't worth it. But he couldn't leave, not after they were becoming such good friends. He was the easiest person in the Gaang to talk to. "You can't leave!"

Zuko's eyes turned their attentions to Katara. He never thought she'd react so strongly. He watched with a wide eye and a gaping mouth until she waited for his response and he also got on his feet. "Hey it's nothing personal! I just have some unfinished business that I'm sure you guys wouldn't be interested in." He brushed his hand through his hair but it fell right back into his face. "I plan on coming back!" He thought that might reassure her.

Katara felt tears welling up in her eyes, and she quickly set her brow in a glare to try and hide them, "I've heard the same words before from my Dad! And he hadn't come back! Sokka and I had to search him out to see him again! And shortly after we did he was taken away from us! I'm getting tired of seeing loved ones leave without coming back! I'm not going to have my friend go off and leave me behind! If we fight your father, I want you to be there fighting along side of us!" The words came out before she could really think on what she was saying. How much did she reveal to him about the way she felt? She watched for his reaction, feeling a chill run through her body.

"I said I'd come back to help fight my father so I'm going to come back!" The prince pointed off the cliffside toward the setting sun. "Katara, I have to go! My mom is out there somewhere and I barely even remember what she looks like! I want to see her again!" His voice strained and his eyes became misty. "I thought she was dead!"

Katara looked away and closed her eyes, her arms falling limp at her sides, "But…from what I hear, your Mom is strong…you'll be reunited after we overthrow Firelord Ozai…You don't have to leave us…" She looked at him with a pleading look. She wanted to tell him so bad…but she couldn't. Something was holding her back, and she couldn't fight against it.

The prince felt like his legs were going to give way to the weight of his despair he'd been ignoring up until that point. He slouched, lowering his head, his arms tense. His face was starting to flush and he couldn't even see straight. "I need to see my mom again! I'm not abandoning anyone! I just-" He wasn't sure why he even told her. He was just planning on leaving without even saying goodbye once Aang mastered firebending.

Katara had a knack for opening him up and forcing him to take a look at himself, just like his mother. And every time he spoke to Katara he thought of her.

Katara's eyes widened in shock as she saw Zuko's legs buckle, but he didn't fell. She was just about to grab him and hold him up too…THAT would've been awkward. She heard his desperation, and took in a deep breath. Then, walking to his side, she wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulder and gave him a gentle squeeze, "I…I'm sorry…I'm being selfish…your mother should come first before us…I just…can't bear thinking about losing you after we've gotten along so well…" She closed her eyes. A few days ago she would've yelled at him, thinking that he would be double crossing them. Now she was afraid that, if he found his mother…would he want to be seen hanging around a Water Tribe peasant when he became the Fire Lord?

Zuko brushed his hands through his hair again before grabbing it tightly. He was so tense that it must've hurt torturously. He stared straight ahead, the thoughts of his mother replaying in his mind. The sun sunk below the horizon, but he didn't even notice. "I don't know if my father was lying and it's driving me insane. If he was lying- I..." A tear escaped from his right eye. ".. will be very disappointed.." He closed his eyes and covered his face with his arms while still tugging on his hair. Perhaps this was what had been bothering him so much.

Katara's eyes grew large as she saw the tear before Zuko tried to hide it. She wrapped her other arm around him and hugged him close, feeling him shiver just slightly. She felt warmth coming to her face, she had hugged him before without that problem. But she saw him differently now…However, he still resembled a small child as he broke down. She had never seen him cry…it broke her heart, and she regretted snapping at him for his decision. He was free to make his own choices…and she should accept that, no matter how much it would hurt her.

"I'm sure she's alive and well…I sure hope you'll find her…when you do…send her my greetings…I would love to meet her some day." She pressed her forehead against his shoulder. She didn't want to let him go…

The fire prince eventually let go of his hair and hugged her back. He was completely silent, but it was pretty clear he was either crying or trying really hard not to cry. His breathing came in short bursts as he buried his face in her shoulder. He was so upset that his emotions began shutting down again. The displacing sense of calm felt unreal to him, but it settled in anyway, causing him to relax. He didn't move, afraid that it might cause him to lose his delicate state of mind which he valued so much. The hug allowed him further to relax, and his mind wandered. _She smells really nice. I wonder if she's using perfume or if she just smells that nice. Her hair is so soft and she's not wearing it up. It looks nice down._

After several long moments his body wasn't trembling, but it was still stiff. He just hugged her limply, keeping his face buried in her shoulder. His legs felt like jello, betraying the fact that a part of him wasn't fooled by this outward sense of calm. He felt it, the inward emotions fighting to come back out. He'd never really noticed that he was stuffing his emotions like that before and he was sure Katara would see right past this fallacy of togetherness just as she had earlier in the day.

Katara felt Zuko relax slightly within her arms, and she felt both relieved and concerned. He was holding back…like he usually did. Why didn't he just let it go, and cry. [I_She/I_ was never afraid to show [I_her/I_ emotions, and when she did let them out, she felt so much better afterwards, especially knowing that those around her were there to comfort her. 

"Zuko…I know how hurt you must feel right now…thinking thoughts like that…But I'm sure your mother is still out there, and she's probably looking for you. I'm not going to keep you from doing what your heart tells you to. And if…" Her voice faltered, "If there's any way I can help…you can always come to me."

The young man's eye sharpened with thought and an idea came to him. _Did Katara want to come with me? Maybe she was hinting at that. But I don't even know where to begin in my search. Or maybe.._ "Maybe if we can find my uncle he might know something about my mother.. Do you think.. that could fit in Sokka's "grand schedule"?"

Katara broke away from the embrace and thought about the idea, "Hmm…it might be doable…if your uncle is hiding out…most likely he's hanging around the Earth Nation…We can see if we can find a bit of information on his wherabouts…Though knowing how wise he is, I doubt that he would make himself easy to find."

Zuko's eyebrow was lowered in thought, and his emotions seemingly had returned to their normal state. Whether or not this was a good thing was up for debate. "Thanks Katara. Let's go back." He also let go of Katara and began to walk back towards camp. There was some sort of thought process just waiting to come out of his mouth. He was in 'leader mode' again, and one could tell because he was standing up straight and his face was one of sheer determination.

Katara nodded and murmured, "No problem…" Before following him. She trailed behind, sensing that he probably wanted some space to think. When she arrived back at camp, she noticed that Aang was back, and he had a whole sack full of fruit that he placed in Appa's saddle. When he saw the two coming, he frowned, but quickly replaced it with a hesitant smile, "Hey guys…what were you doing?" He was curious. He noticed that Katara was spending an unusually large amount of time with Zuko.

Zuko did nothing to snuff out this curiosity. ".. Nothing." Which obviously was a lie. But he quickly changed the subject, noticing that the whole group was now within hearing distance of his voice. He took a deep sigh before catching everyone's attention. "Listen. I've been thinking, that I need.." He paused, but seeing Katara's reassuring glance, he continued. ".. your help. I need to find my uncle. He shouldn't be difficult to find because.. I think I know how to find him. I just need to find a white lotus tile.. and.." Sokka's eyes lit up and he began fishing around. "You mean like one of these?" He pulled out the white lotus tile that his master Piandao had given him. Now he wasn't immediately agreeing to Zuko's plan, but the mention of the white lotus tile had gotten him interested. This was a mystery he'd been aching to solve. "But what do you need a white lotus tile for?"

The clever prince just smirked. "A while back in the Earth Kingdom my uncle took me to a shady bar." He was withholding the information until the end of the story just to keep Sokka's interest. (Wow, maybe he was related to Azula after all.) Sokka leaned in curiously. _A shady bar?_ "He sat down to a game of paisho and set down a lotus tile. They spoke to eachother and set it up elaborately and then the guy helped us get to Ba Sing Se. Apparently he's a member of this ancient secret society called 'the order of the white lotus'. I believe they'll know where uncle Iroh is."

Katara smiled warmly and went to go sit by Aang. She listened with interest at Zuko's story, not noticing that the young Avatar was looking at her with an inquisitive glance. Her sapphire eyes were focused on the Fire Prince, taking in every word he said, invisioning the bar and the paisho game within her mind. So these "White Lotus" people must have quite a bit of information…and if his Uncle was a member, then surely they'd know where he was.

Sokka thought it over for a few moments. "I wonder if my master Piandao is a member of the white lotus. There was a huge ornate white lotus decoration on his door, and he's the one who gave me this paisho tile." Zuko stared at Sokka. "What? Piandao?" The watertribe boy nodded. "Yeah, the greatest swordsman of all time, Piandao. I met him in the firenation." The prince frowned thoughtfully. "We could go see him, but it would be risky entering the firenation again."

Sokka seemed to really like the idea. "Yeah but after we find this secret 'order of the white lotus' I bet they'll help us out, right?" Toph interjected. "Isn't it a little naive to think an ancient secret order would help? It's a long shot." Zuko pat Aang on the shoulder. "But Aang's the Avatar. I'm sure they'll help him."

Aang gave a big smile, "Yeah, I'm sure they'd be glad to help me out. I'm sure that when they find out you're Iroh's nephew, than they'll gladly give us some assistance." He stamped his staff on the ground and gave a sharp nod, "I think it's a great plan. Count me in."

Katara looked down at the ground with a troubled expression. So it was set…they were going to find Iroh…and then Zuko was going to leave…would he finish Aang's training, or have his uncle take his place? And if he did leave…would she leave Aang and the others behind to go with him? Her heart was torn in two, and she didn't know which half she wanted to follow.

Zuko smiled gratefully at Aang. He wasn't sure how he could ever repay him. "Finding my uncle should be much easier with a giant flying bison. I can't believe I was thinking of doing it alone." Sokka chuckled. "Yeah, that was a stupid idea. And besides, now you have a lead whereas before- what were you gonna do, scour the Earth until you randomly encountered him? Come on Zuko." Zuko lowered his head, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah. Thanks guys." Maybe they'd offer to help him find his mother too, but there were too many factors involved just yet to even introduce that possibility to anyone else.

"And maybe the White Lotus guys can help us get dad back Katara! Do you think they could do that Zuko?" Sokka was excited and very happy. "I think they might be capable of that. From what I gathered they're pretty powerful." Sokka gave Katara a hug. "We have a plan! An actual plan! I hope this works!" Even Toph lifted her suspicions about this ancient order and gave a hopeful smile. What did they have to lose? There wasn't much at this rate _to lose_.

Katara gave Sokka a weak smile as he hugged her, but it slowly faded. It was a good plan, but now another thing stood in her way of being with Zuko…her dad. She gave a sigh and stood up, there was no use brooding on what would happen, they had to get to that point before she could decide. Maybe Zuko would change his mind? Maybe Iroh would have the wherabouts of his mother, and tell him that she's safe and sound. But Zuko wanted to see her so bad…Katara felt it was foolish for her to want to follow the Fire Prince so badly, but she couldn't help it. Sighing, she looked up at the darkening sky, "We should really get some sleep first, after supper. We have a long day ahead of us…" Her voice trailed off as she looked at Zuko.

Sokka pulled out the map. "We're still following my plan. They mesh together really well. Piandao is on one of the outer islands here, so we might as well continue traveling south." Zuko looked at the map and nodded. He couldn't believe that things were working out in favor of them sticking together longer. Fate had an interesting way of playing out. He was feeling really nervous and hopeful all at once.

The nightly duties were performed and not much talking happened for the rest of the night. It had become really humid out and cool air had settled in. Clouds covered the moon, making it a little darker than usual. A quiet had settled over the entire group, but if thoughts could be heard, each person was thinking very loudly. Everyone quietly said their goodnights and settled into their beds.

**Wow...Who knew Katara had the capacity within her for Emo-ness? And totally crushing on Zuko XD Zutara rocks! (Kuro doesn't agree with me as much :P Ah well XD)**


	8. Episode 8: Feelings Revealed

**smirks**

**Episode 8: **Feelings Revealed

The prince kept on his side, clinging to his blanket. It was very cold compared to the afternoon. Perhaps it was going to rain. And if it rained, he wasn't going to sleep. But he probably wasn't going to sleep anyway. A raindrop hit his head, and that was enough for him to try and invade someone else's tent to sleep with them. "Aang... Aang.. are you still awake?"

Aang gave a small groan as his eyes fluttered open. He was only dozing off when Zuko came in, "Yeah, I'm awake. What's wrong?" He listened to the rain pattering outside and he gave Zuko a small smile, "Can't sleep? Are you excited that we may see your Uncle soon?"

Katara gazed up at the ceiling of her tent, unable to sleep as she tried to sort out the thoughts within her mind. There were so many of them…they kept her awake, and the rain didn't help at all. Sighing out of frustration and boredom, she turned onto her stomach and held her hand outside of the tent as droplets of rain fell upon her hand. She enjoyed the cooling sensation, and she poked her head out and closed her eyes before tilting her head upwards towards the dark sky. The rain fell upon her face, providing a small distraction from the events of the past few days. 

"Yes but that's not it... I'm getting rained on. No tent. Is there room for both of us in here?" Without even waiting for a response, he began settling in beside Aang. The Avatar was a very generous kid, and there was no way he'd let his firebending teacher get drenched. He curled up in his warm blanket and turned his back to Aang.

Aang smiled warmly as Zuko settled in, "Yes, there's plenty of room. Get some sleep, you'll need it." He turned his back to Zuko and closed his eyes, noticing that the temperature within the tent rose. The warmth caused his eyelids to grow heavier and he was soon fast asleep.

Katara had moved out of her tent to sit in the rain, allowing it to pour down over her back and shoulders. She enjoyed the rain, and tonight wasn't any exception. It wasn't too cold, but it helped quite a bit in the warm summer weather. She noticed that Zuko had moved from his spot on the ground and a small peek within Aang's tent showed her that he was there. Smiling, she closed her eyes and, holding her hand up to stop the rain, dried off her clothes and went back into her tent. She snuggled into her sleeping bag and closed her eyes, allowing the gentle pitter patter of rain to lull her to sleep, her mind clear of the thoughts that plagued her before.

Sokka began to dream about a big.. juicy.. steak. It was the world's biggest steak, and it was all for him. He began eating it with gusto.

Zuko listened to Aang's light snores for almost an hour before calming himself enough to drift off. His dreams were turbulent to say the least, and it caused his body to twitch and to roll onto his other side a lot. After about four hours of terrible dreams, one stuck out in particular.

"_Uncle, you're okay. I'm so glad I found you." The prince went to hug his uncle, who then glared at him cold heartedly. "What do you want prince Zuko?" His heart sunk. "I was hoping you knew where my mother is. I learned she's alive." Uncle Iroh just sighed in irritation. "She's right here." He led his nephew to him as if he were just showing a customer some sort of merchandise. Zuko felt the cold ice his heart. _

_His mother stood there, an old crone. She was not even recognizable anymore. She hugged him as if he were a stranger, and Zuko's stomach turned. They walked and talked for a while, and she slowly became the woman he once remembered. But just as she was about to give him a real motherly hug, Zuko's sister and Mai came and killed her._

"MOM!" The shocked firebender sat up in a cold sweat. _It's dark. Where am I?_ He wiped the tears that had begun, trying to figure out if it was real or not.

"WAH!" Aang leapt to his feet as Zuko shouted out. His arms waved wildly in a terrible attempt to get into a fighting stance, and when he saw that it was just Zuko, his arms hung loosely at his side and he murmured, "Oh…Did you have a nightmare?" He frowned in concern. He knew Katara had some now and again. He didn't know that Zuko faced a similar problem.

"Oh... I was dreaming.. I didn't mean to disturb you. Goodnight." He laid back down and began drifting off once more, wiping his face in his half asleep state. Sokka groaned from the other tent, but was also soon back asleep. The rain was pouring heavily. Zuko's throbbing heart coincided with the pounding against the tent, and as time passed, he realized he was only growing more and more awake. The dream settled into the front of his mind, replaying as if once wasn't enough torture.

Aang gave a sleepy nod and collapsed back onto the ground, curling up in a ball before falling back to sleep.

Katara groaned softly as she heard shouting and she warily peeked her head out of the tent to see what was going on. Unable to see any threat, she noticed that the rain was pouring harder and she tried throwing the sleeping bag over her head to drown out the noise. But the damage had been done. The memory of the events that happened earlier came rushing back to her mind, bombarding her with different images and emotions. Her mother's face, Zuko's face…they both went through her mind and she clenched her teeth, hoping that it would somehow clear her thoughts. She gave a frustrated groan and, getting to her feet, went outside, feeling the rain drench her. She allowed it too. It wasn't like she couldn't dry off anyway. She sat down by the burnt out firepit and wrapped her arms around her knees, trying to enjoy the feel of the rain against her back.

Zuko gave up on sleeping and left the tent, feeling the cold water attack his dry body. It soaked him within moments of standing outside in it. He realized that Katara was also awake and sat beside her quietly. His thoughts were almost drowned out by the loud rain. Almost.

Katara took a sideways glance as she saw someone sit by her from the corner of her eyes and, noticing it was Zuko, smiled warmly and held her hand up, bending the water away so they wouldn't get as soaked, "You couldn't sleep either? I heard you shouting…is everything okay?"

"I woke you up?" The fire prince sighed. "It was just a dream I had." His throat tightened a bit as he encountered it once more. "I'll be fine."

Katara frowned, "I wish I could help…but I face the same problem. Only tonight I just can't seem to get to sleep at all…" She sighed and closed her eyes, "There's too much on my mind…and I know I need the energy for in the morning, but it's just too hard." _Come on, Katara…just tell him how you feel…it's not hard…He's right here…tell him before it's too late! _She groaned softly and gazed down at the grass.

The boy blinked tiredly, staring at the soaked firepit. There was a long silence before he decided to break it. "I hope my uncle can forgive me. I never thanked him once for all the times he was there for me. I wasn't even that pleasant to be around. I was a jerk to him. And then after all we'd gone through together I betrayed him."

Katara turned her blue eyes towards him, "Is that's what's troubling you? Your Uncle sounds like a forgiving man. I mean…look at you and me. I hated your guts just a few days ago, and now I actually lo…like you." She blushed at the near slipup, "I'm sure he's not completely angry with you. You're still his nephew, and he probably now knows that you've joined the Avatar. So you shouldn't be worried."

It took a while for him to respond. ".. I hurt him.. I'm having trouble forgiving myself." He brushed his hands through his wet hair and it stayed back, exposing his face. One little strand stayed in the middle of his forehead. "You're such a good person Katara.. I hurt you too. I can't stand it."

Katara sighed, "Many times forgiving oneself is harder then forgiving others…It's good that you realize what you did was wrong, but it isn't good to let it affect the way you live or think. You need to let the mistakes of your past remain in the past. You've hurt some people…but you've made up for it…at least you have for me." She gave him a reassuring smile and pat him on the back.

"I'm trying to forgive myself.. I don't think I'll be able to until uncle Iroh can smile proudly at me again." He looked at Katara with mildly pleading eyes, the rain causing his hair to flop back down into his face again. ".. And what if he doesn't know where my mom is?"

Katara was saddened by the look he gave her. She really wanted to help, but this was beyond anything she could do. He would have to sort out things with his uncle…and as for his mom…

"I…I don't know…If he doesn't know where she is…I'm afraid that we may not have any other options. And you setting out to look for her without a lead is not a good idea…I just…can't think of anything else…"

Zuko looked away, lowering his head in defeat. He knew she was right. To run around with absolutely no leads was tiresome, and by oneself was completely unreasonable. "You're right."

Katara gently squeezed his shoulder, "It'll be fine. I'm sure Iroh will know where your mother is. And if not…well…you still have us." She gave him a weak, tired smile and sighed, "You should try getting back to sleep now. We both can use the rest…"

Zuko offered a small and hopeful childlike glance before looking away again. "I'll go to sleep in a moment.. You go. It's alright."

Katara frowned, but gave a small nod, "Okay…" Her hesitation was revealed in her tone of voice, but she stood up and went back into her tent. As she lay her head down on the pillow, she gave one final look at Zuko sitting in the rain and she closed her eyes, feeling sleep come to her once again.

The rain didn't cease. Zuko's sadness grew once he was alone again, magnified by the dreary weather. "If uncle doesn't know anything about mom, then my search would end right there and I wouldn't know what to do... Katara's right. I can't just leave. What if my sister attacks the Avatar again? I won't be there to help just because of personal issues? That's so lame." He spoke normally because the rain was so loud it drowned out any noises he was making with it's pattering. "I just want to know if she's okay." He stood up and wandered away from the group, his responsibility. He walked past the idiot travelers' camp, and they'd made a whole bunch of flower crowns on the trees that surrounded their site. The prince made a face at this corny peace loving display and walked on.

His legs wanted rest, but his mind wanted a sign. It wanted something to tell him that he was going in the right direction, that someday he would sit on that throne with Aang and gaang on one side, and his mother and uncle at the other. That somehow, peace would return and the other nations would find a way to forgive his. He realized he didn't even see Mai or Azula or Ty-Lee at his side and it made him feel somewhat guilty. But he wasn't sure how he felt about them. He imagined Mai not even batting an eye when she saw his lifeless body being held up by the water bending girl, and it tore him apart. "How could she love me and not even care about me all at the same time? It doesn't make sense."

It took until mid morning to even look like morning had begun as the rains continued. Toph broke out of her tent, only to get rained on and come on back inside. But it was muddy inside too, which was driving her nuts. She decided she'd go bother Katara. She broke out once more with a grumble as she was getting soaked and entered into Katara's tent. "Kaaataaaraaa, it's raining.. and I'm all wet.."

Sokka finished waking up entirely before leaving his tent, which he promptly re-entered. "AUGH! It's POURING OUT! Absolutely drenching!" There was no sign of Zuko, which probably shouldn't surprise anyone anymore. But it intrigued Toph. Even though it was really muddy outside, she could tell he was nowhere near the campsite. There was only Sokka, Aang, Katara, and herself. She remained quiet about it until she could double check. He was probably just doing something. No need to be alarmed. It was Zuko. He seemed to like wandering off. And he always returned.

Katara gave a small groan and her eyelids slowly and tiredly lifted to see Toph's muddied feet. She lifted her head and blinked tiredly at the blind Earthbender. "It's raining still? She groggily pushed herself up to a sitting position and waved her hand to draw the water from Toph's clothes. She sent the offending stream outside, hearing it splash against the muddy ground. "I'll pack up then, rain doesn't bother me…" The sleepy tone in her voice never left her as she walked outside and began packing up the things from around the firepit.

Aang woke up, hearing Sokka's shouting, and went outside of the tent, feeling the rain fall down on him. He noticed Katara was putting things away, and saw that Zuko was nowhere in sight. Feeling a bit concerned, but not too much, he went to the Waterbender's aid and helped her to get the supplies onto Appa's back, "A little rain isn't going to hurt us. We have to continue on, we have no time to waste." Aang's voice rose against the loud rain. He hoped that if Zuko was in the area, he would hear.

The wind began gusting in reply to Aang's voice. Sokka began packing up as well. "This storm looks like it's getting pretty bad. We need to find some shelter." He pulled out his heavy jacket and placed it on to help against him getting soaked. It was getting windy and chilly enough to wear something extra anyhow. Once they were all packed, and there was no way they could eat breakfast with the weather this way, Sokka crossed his arms. "Okay, I've been wondering this for a while but.. Where's that idiot prince Zuko?" Toph shook her head. "He's not in the area."

Katara's heart sank, "He…he's not?" Without another word, she rushed off towards the trees, following Zuko's water-filled footprints as she ran. "That idiot! What is his problem! Why would he go out in a storm like this!" Her cries were unheard in the storm and her hair whipped against her face as she ran, _How could he leave us like this? Is he afraid to face his Uncle? Did something I say hurt him?_ She gritted her teeth and pushed forward through the wind and the rain. The heavy gusts were getting stronger, and she had to lean against the wind to push onwards. She wasn't going back until she found him, and brought him safely back to the others.

Aang's eyes widened in shock as Katara suddenly vanished. Appa gave a roar of discontent at the weather and the Airbender turned his frightened gaze towards Sokka, "Sokka! What do we do!" He relied on Sokka's leadership to get him out of these things. Storms frightened him, and he didn't know what kind of shelter was available to them in this area.

"Aang, I need you to create an air bubble around Appa; we'll search for him by air. Toph, help Katara look for Zuko. Let's go." Sokka waited for Aang to hop on after him, Momo clinging to Aang for reassurance. Once Aang began bending them a bubble, Momo switched to Sokka for protection. "Yip yip Appa." And so Appa went soaring into the storm.

The blind earthbender followed behind Katara from a distance, remaining unknown to her. She was keeping her feet out for Zuko's vibrations, wherever they may be. Still none she could feel. She became worried for him as well once the gusts began to get worse. This wasn't a storm to be brooding in.

"ZUKO!" Katara shouted as loud as she could over the thunderous storm, and her breath caught as the wind struck her face head-on. When that gust subsided, she took in a deep breath and forced her legs to keep moving. She held her hand in front of her, bending the rainwater around her to lessen the blow of the storm. "ZUKO! Where ARE YOU!" She felt tears roll down her face, mixing with the water from the rain.

Aang kept his eyes open for any signs of the Fire Prince as he kept the airbubble around them, leaving Appa with a gentle area to fly in. Why would his Firebending Master just walk off during a terrible storm? Maybe he left before the rain became really bad? How far would he have gone? And why did Katara rush head-on into the storm like that to find him? These questions were haunting his mind, and he couldn't think on them just yet.

The prince felt the water rushing around him as it had been for hours. The old and seemingly sturdy bridge which he'd successfully crossed as he was moving away from the group only decided to break when he was coming back for them. Although he was pretty thin and strong, he couldn't pull himself out of the framework for this bridge. He tried to burn himself out of it, but the water was not allowing him. Everything was too damp to catch fire, and even though he should have been sheltered, it was still raining on him. Great, just great. _When are we supposed to be leaving?_

Katara staggered forward, holding her ground against the wind, and stopped in her tracks as she made it to the edge of a river. She looked left and right for a bridge, and saw that one had broken not too far from where she was standing. Something within her mind clicked, and her eyes widened in shock. She just hoped she wasn't right. As she made it to the side of the bridge, she looked down through the rubble, her heart pumping furiously. "ZUKO!" She cried out as loud as she could, unable to see anything through the broken pieces of the bridge. A blast of wind struck her side and she fell to all fours to keep from flying backwards. Her hands clutched at the ground and she shouted even louder, "ZUKO!"

Zuko heard a muffled sound coming from about ten feet up, probably near the top part of the bridge. It sounded like a howling, but then the second time he heard it, it sounded like Katara. "Ka-" His mouth filled with water and he forced his head up. "Katara!" The river's water level had been rising all night, and it was finally deciding to try and cover his mouth. When he forced his head up, he felt the piece of wood that was holding him down graze against his side. "Katara! Is that you?"

Katara felt relief flood through her as she heard Zuko's voice, but it was replaced by dread shortly after when she managed to catch sight of him. Only his head showed above the water, and the water was rising at a quick rate, "Zuko! I'm coming! Hold on!" She quickly lowered herself down to the river and when she put one leg down, her eyes widened in shock as the current pulled her down into the treacherous river. She grabbed onto the frame of the bridge just on time and pulled as hard as she could in order to wrap her left arm around it to keep herself from being swept away. The water was pushing against her mercilessly. She mustered as much strength as she could and sent her arm flying forward, causing the water coming towards them to push back. She then pulled herself towards Zuko. When she tried swimming backwards, trying to pull the frame away, it didn't budge an inch and she knew she had to go with a more complicated attempt. "Zuko, where are you stuck?" She asked, trying her best to remain calm.

Zuko smiled, exhaustion showing plain on his face. He returned to seriousness as he realized she was struggling. "My sides are being pinned", he said, speaking up over the roar of the overflowed river. He wondered why he was getting in so much trouble. It was like every time he even remotely strayed from his destiny, it came back to bite him. He wouldn't be going off on his own again anytime soon. He'd learned his lesson. The water suddenly surged above head level but only for a few moments, and he coughed, not having expected it. "I don't think pulling me will get me out, I've been trying to do that since last night.." A big part of him was beginning to doubt he could make it out of their before Katara showed up, and now the hope was resurfacing. His desperation had run out of steam. He felt helpless, humbled once more by the sheer power of nature, by the will of destiny. If he had just stayed with Aang, he wouldn't be in this situation. As Katara continued trying to pull him out, his doubts overwhelmed him. The water began raising above their head level again.

Toph felt as both of them disappeared, but she could hear their voices. They were probably in the water. There was nothing she could do.

Katara gave him a short nod and, taking a deep breath, dived deeper underwater. She saw the two beams pinning him and held on tightly to the one nearest to her. As the current threatened to pull her away, she held her free hand towards the frame and had the water pressure build around the beam. She hoped to snap it in half, but she paused. If the things pinning him were removed, the current would sweep them both away. Her brow furrowing in frustration, Katara decided to take a chance. She continued applying pressure to the beam and hoped that she'd be able to use her bending to get them out of the river. 

The beams snapped, causing the middle of the bridge to collapse. Toph heard this and ran up to them. "GUYS!" She wished she could see, that she could swim. She felt like the helpless blind girl her parents had raised as she just stood there, the gusts of wind almost knocking her down. "GUYS! NO!"

Zuko was finally able to move, but the current swept him away. Even though he tried to grab a part of the bridge, it just collapsed onto him, giving him a piece of driftwood to lean on. He helped Katara to also hold onto the driftwood.

Katara grabbed onto the driftwood and coughed the little water that went into her lungs. They were far from safety yet. She thought she could hear Toph's voice, but the storm was too loud, she couldn't understand. Looking ahead at the dangerous waters in front of them, she grabbed Zuko's arm with one hand and lifted the other, causing a wave of water to lift the two towards the shore. However, before she could reach it, a strong gust of wind struck her and both crashed back into the water, this time with no driftwood to support them.

Her heart pumped furiously as the river threatened to tear them apart. She wrapped her arm around Zuko's waist and, bending her right elbow so that her arm was positioned in front of her, twisted around to cause a swirl of water to form around them. The water was calmer for a brief time, and she managed to push them up to the surface before the current could take over again.

Zuko's eyes appeared gray in the terribly dark morning, but they were determined as ever. He held Katara close, attempting not to get in the way of her bending while still doing his best to keep her afloat. He wasn't sure where the strength to go on was coming from as he'd exhausted himself trying to get out of his predicament that Katara was now dragged into. "Katara! We need to get out of the water! The current's moving faster and that can only mean one thing!"

Toph ran for her friends, slowly losing where they were because of the gusts in her ears. She couldn't help them, and though she wouldn't admit it later, she dropped to her knees and began to cry. For just that one day she wished she could see.

Katara heard the roar of the waterfall over the storm. It was a sound she never wished to hear again after the Waterbending scroll incident…

"Alright…hold your breath!"

Taking in another breath, she allowed them both to sink to the bottom and fought against the current in order to get down deep enough. Then, lifting her free hand upwards towards the sky, she punched it upwards and sent a wave of water, diverted from one of the currents, against their backs. It pushed them up through the water and she tthrew her arm towards the right, causing the stream pushing them upward to direct towards the shore. The wind threatened to push it away again, but Katara urged it onward. Just before they made it to the end of the waterfall, the two landed on the shore. Katara groaned and pushed herself up, noticing that she had landed on Zuko, and his face was only a few inches from hers. Her face reddened.

Zuko looked up at her, his drenched hair in his face. He didn't push her off. He didn't do anything. He was just sort of laying there, covered from the rain by Katara.

She blushed, and his brow raised, looking up at her thankfully. He wasn't sure why he'd been getting in so much trouble the last few days, but he was so glad she saved him. Even if it destroyed his sense of pride, it also destroyed this sense of "alone", of having to cover for himself, of having to constantly look over his shoulder in fear of something else coming after him. Again he felt connected with her, as if there was some special bond between them. He felt this way in Ba Sing Se and when they merged the day before as well. So much had happened in so little time.

Katara noticed he didn't move, and wondered what she should do next. She saw him staring at her and she gave him an awkward smile. She felt the rain pattering against her back, but she didn't mind. She looked down at his face, seeing his soaked hair resting above those golden eyes. His scar…the one she never healed, didn't look so bad upon his face now that she saw him in a different light. In fact, it made him look quite cool…but it was his eyes that caught her attention. She wondered what he was thinking, as he gazed up at her with those golden eyes. Her heart beat faster. She wondered if…no, she pushed the idea out of her mind. It was too risky…he didn't even know she liked him. But still…

Zuko felt his heart begin pacing and warmth was coming to his face. The blush came quickly as he darted his eyes away shyly. "Thanks for saving me again.. Are.. you alright?"

Katara blushed when she saw him blushing, _Does he really…like me?_ She watched as he looked away, "I…it was no problem. And I'm just fine…thanks for asking." Her heart was beating as if she had just run a mile uphill. Her heart urged her to move closer, to lower her head, but her body refused to comply. "I…I…I'm glad…you're okay. I was…afraid I'd lose you again."

Zuko turned and looked her in the eye for just a moment before turning even redder and looking away nervously. He closed his eyes. "Until you showed up I had lost hope.. I'm not going on any more walks anytime soon.. At least.. alone.." He opened his eyes, scanned in her general direction while avoiding real eye contact, and looked away once more. He felt shy. There was something that Katara was doing to him. She made his whole body tense up, but with excitement. He wanted something to happen, but his mind dared not venture into 'what' precisely. For the moment, he forgot who he was and who Katara was and it was just them. Her beautiful soft hair and bright blue eyes, accentuated further by the blush on her face.

Katara felt her heart lift and her mind left behind her worries. Was he implying something by his alone comment? She felt herself moving closer, her face nearing his. Her heart raced, her eyes began to close. Her lips brushed against his.

The prince noticed she was closing in, obviously for a kiss. Her lips brushed against his and they were soft like rose petals and full. He closed in, pressing their lips together. His were surprising soft and full for a man's. _We're kissing. I'm kissing Katara.. Sokka's sister and Aang's crush. What am I doing!_ His head suddenly began to hurt but his heart persisted in wanting her.

"Guys! You're okay! I'm so glad you're okay." Toph ran over to them, obviously at least somewhat unaware of what she was interrupting. "You guys are okay right?" She wiped at her face.

Katara was amazed at Zuko's reaction, and as she felt his lips against hers, her shoulders relaxed. She was just about to pull back from the kiss…when she heard Toph's voice. Her heart sank and began to furiously pound and she shot to her feet. Her face turned completely red, and she was so glad that Toph was blind. She reached down a hand to help Zuko up, watching for a reaction from him while answering Toph, her voice weak and shaky.

"W…we..we're fine. We just…were making our way back." Why…why did Toph have to walk in at that moment? If she knew what happened…Katara would never be able to live it down. But…at the same time she felt like she wouldn't mind if the whole world knew. She enjoyed it…She just kissed the guy who she absolutely hated not that long ago..and she loved it.

Seeing that a hand was presented to him, he also scurried to his feet. He watched Toph for any sort of reaction.

She soon had one. "Wait.. Were you two doing something!" Her face became red and her eyes wide.

Zuko's face also became red. "No! No! I mean.. yes.." He sighed, knowing that it was impossible to lie to Toph. But also that he just didn't feel right lying about it. Toph seemed confused, unsure of what to do. She resorted to her sarcasm. "Well at least I can tell you're alright." The guarded girl didn't want them to know she had cried in fear that they were drowning right in front of her. A part of her felt sad she wasn't sharing this information, but at least she felt strong.

Katara felt the warmth in her face and she saw the flustered look on Toph's face. Immediately she thought of the Earthbender telling Sokka and Aang, but it was an irrational fear. She wouldn't do that…would she? Her mind went to the overprotectiveness of her brother, and to Aang's kiss…she hadn't felt what she felt when she kissed Zuko back in the Day of Black Sun, and Aang was the one that kissed her. Did Zuko feel the same as she had felt then? The red color faded from her face, and she suddenly felt very cold from the rain. Hugging her arms close to her, she wondered why she hadn't felt so cold before…and then she looked at Zuko, and her heart began to pump faster once again.

The prince lowered his head shamefully. He didn't know Toph was there otherwise he wouldn't have. I'm so tired and cold.. The wind was practically knocking him and his weakened legs over. His body felt like it had become the flowing current, that he couldn't really control it. The gusts broke down a branch beside them. "We need to get to shelter until Aang and Sokka find us!" Toph exclaimed. Zuko nodded, taking both girl's hands and walking forward. He forced himself not to feel weak. They had to find shelter and this was all his fault, so he'd push against the wind.

Katara didn't seem to pay attention to what was going on around her. Her mind was back at that moment in time, replaying it within her mind non-stop while Zuko pulled them forward. She felt foolish for pressuring him into something like that, but…it just seemed…right for some reason. She loved him. And for that brief moment…it felt like he really loved her too.

The wind blown, cold, and tired group finally gave up on finding shelter and Toph lifted her arms, creating one despite the fact that she had to reach far down for some earth that wasn't mud. What was erected was a mostly water proof and dry.. and somewhat cramped little earth tent for them to dry off in. 

Once Zuko was sure the two girls were okay he curled up at the entrance for warmth and closed his eyes. He was so exhausted he felt gross. Having gotten literally no sleep the night before, struggling for his life, it made him tired. He wasn't going to search for his mom, he decided in his half asleep state. He'd find out what his uncle knew and only if it were doable would he see her. But he wouldn't allow himself to be separated from Aang. Bad things kept happening every time he was separated from Aang.

Toph huddled close to Katara for warmth and perhaps for a mother's comfort. Her eyes were glassy as though she'd been crying.

Katara snapped out of her daydreaming state when she felt Toph next to her. She streamed whatever water she could off of everyone and wrapped her arm around Toph's shoulder, holding the Earthbender close to her. She shivered from the cold, but warmth was beginning to spread through the makeshift shelter, probably from the Fire Prince lying near the entrance. Katara looked at him, the corner of her lips lifting in a small smile. He was back…and hopefully he'll never leave them again. She wondered what would've happened if she didn't go through the storm and look for him, and shuddered at the thought. She hugged Toph closer for comfort.

There was a silence which was consumed by the noises of the storm. Thunder, wind, and rain. Toph heard all of these things, but she also heard Katara's quiet breathing. Katara was reassured, and it helped her to feel alright. Especially considering she was worried she'd yet again failed the group. Tears gathered in her eyes as she imagined Aang and Sokka hating her for her uselessness. She usually wouldn't cry in front of someone, but it was okay to do it in front of Katara.. at least a little. She hugged Katara, leaning into her.

Zuko kept watch from his post at the entrance for a bison, but he knew very well that they probably ended up having to retire to shelter as well. He was so lethargic that his vision continuously crossed against his will, and he almost didn't care that Aang and Sokka were most likely worried. 

He was just glad to be out of the water, which he could remember so well it was as though his body still felt it. He felt the pinned sensation and his heart responded by thumping. When his heart thumped, he remembered how Katara had made him feel. Touching his lips lightly with his hand and closing his eyes, he felt the kiss again as well. A sense of dread seeped in and a slow sense of realization also came with it. _She made me feel the way I felt when Mai and I first kissed. And now I'm a double crosser._ A part of his mind continually repeated _serves Mai right, she's a double crosser too._ He tried to make that excuse work. _I don't have as much feelings for Mai as I did when we last decided we were still together. I'm haunted by the idea she could watch my drowned body coldly. I know she did because if she truly cared she would have done something outstanding enough for Katara to remark on._

Katara felt Toph shaking in her arms and she gently pat the blind girl's shoulder, wishing she could say something to comfort her. But she felt that even if she did say something, her quiet words would be lost over the maelstrom outside. Her thoughts of the kiss returned, and she looked at Zuko, wishing desperately that she knew what he was thinking. He had returned the kiss…but was it to keep her from feeling bad? How did he really feel? Did he really love her too? Or was he just going along with it? She closed her eyes and pressed her fingertips against her lips, still feeling the feel of the kiss lingering on them. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Zuko was doing the same, and she quickly lowered her hand, blushing once again.

Toph could feel some sort of tension in the hut, and it was very distracting, although she still feel sad. Zuko turned, facing the two girls. He became concerned for the younger girl, who was afflicted. Was she shaken from the storm? _What's wrong with Toph?_ ".. Are you okay Toph?" In response to being spoken to she felt overwhelmingly sad. If it weren't for Katara he would have been dead. Her head lowered, the bangs covering her eyes. Tears dripped down and she sniffed. The greatest Earthbender in the world, but also a twelve year old girl with insecurities.

_Great, I made her cry._ The firebender furrowed his brows with worry. He didn't know how to deal with people crying, especially younger girls.

Katara looked at Toph when Zuko asked if she was okay and she saw how sad the Earthbender was. She hadn't seen her this broken down since the scam incident in the Fire Nation. It was frightening to see the tough little Earthbender cry like this. "Toph, what's wrong?" Her voice had a motherly tone to it, coaxing the girl to reveal her feelings so she could help as best as she could, "I haven't seen you this upset before…What happened?"

Toph sniffled and wiped her face. "I was following you so I could help but when you found Zuko, I couldn't even see him. I couldn't see you either when you jumped in, and I couldn't hear anything.. I didn't want to lose you two like how I lost Appa... I felt.. so.." She lowered her voice so Zuko had to strain to hear her. ".. helpless.. I actually wished I could see.. I wished I could swim.."

Katara gave Toph a sympathetic look, even though the girl couldn't see, and hugged her close, "I'm sorry…I wish I could help, but don't worry about it. You're a strong girl. You're certainly not helpless. It was just a situation that none of us had much control over. Don't feel like you're useless just because you couldn't help us in one small situation." 

Zuko wanted to reassure her but he really wasn't sure what to say. He barely knew the girl.

Toph gave Katara a hug back, and that seemed to help a lot. "I'm glad you two are okay.. I was so worried.. Thanks Katara.." She wiped her face once more, letting her go. _I am strong. I'm not helpless. I'm the strongest Earthbender in the world._

Katara smiled, "It's not a problem. Don't put yourself down, you're the strongest Earthbender I have ever met, and I've seen quite a few in my day." She rested a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Just keep a positive attitude. You've saved my butt plenty of times before."

"I have haven't I. I've saved your butt many many times..." Toph smiled. "So, you and Zuko.. What's that all about?"

Zuko's eyes widened. "I didn't know you were there Toph!" His hands waved dismissively. "You two were kissing right? What's that like?" Toph watched blankly, knowing she was making them uncomfortable but not exactly caring too much.

Katara felt the heat rise to her face again and her mouth opened and closed as she tried to come up with a reply. Her heart began to race again as she recalled the moment…the gentle kiss…and she gave an awkward cough, "It…was…it was…" she shut her mouth. She didn't know how Zuko felt…she didn't want to offend him. She left herself in an uncomfortable silence.

"You're too young to be talking about such a thing Toph..." Zuko used this as an excuse, unsure of how the girl would take it. "Uh huh, sure Zuko. I'm too young to hear about kissing. Come on, I won't tell anybody. I'm just curious what it was like." The prince shifted with discomfort. "I'm not going to talk about that sort of thing to you Toph. It's not any of your business."

Katara gave an awkward nod, "He's right, you really don't need to know. You'll find out when you're older…" she opened her mouth to say something, but quickly covered it again and sneezed. She rubbed her chilly arms and closed her eyes, "Great…Now's not the best time to come down with a cold…" 

Zuko frowned. "Are you cold? I'll get a fire going." He left the safety of the hut without another word, gathering soggy sticks. He could dry them in no time so it wasn't really a problem. Toph kept an 'eye' on him, and he wasn't going very far so it was alright. He came back with a large amount of sticks, dripping wet once again. Drying them was simple; he heated them. Then they were arranged and a fire was lit.

Katara sat close to the fire, feeling the warmth of it against her. She continued to rub her arms, and listened to the pounding of the rain outside. When she turned to look at Zuko, she saw he was wet and quickly dried him off with Waterbending.

"Thanks for the fire…" She murmured, having no idea what else to say, "I sure hope the others are alright…" She closed her eyes. What would Sokka and Aang think if they had saw them kissing? Sokka…well, he would get overprotective and pushy, making Zuko's life miserable. And Aang…Katara shuddered. She knew he loved her…and she couldn't bear breaking his heart by telling him what she did. But…she was almost afraid to love him back. Something was pushing her away from the Avatar…she could feel it every time she was near him. How could she let him down without hurting him? She was so confused…Why did she fall in love with Zuko? How would the other two react? Did Zuko love her? Or was he still in love with Mai? The thoughts hurt, and she pushed them back in her mind, giving a tired sigh as she did so.

"Why do I get myself into these messes?" she whispered.

Zuko sat on the opposite end of Katara and Toph, his eyes golden and thoughtful. He was thinking very deeply, ignoring all else. Toph looked at Katara. "So did you kiss him or did he kiss you?" She had spoken quietly and Zuko didn't appear to have heard.

Katara's cheeks took on a brighter shade of red. Why didn't Toph just drop it?

"I…uhh…sort of…kissed him first…he…returned it…in a way." Her voice was low and quiet. It felt so strange…admitting that she kissed Zuko…her old rival…At least she wasn't admitting it to Sokka, he'd never leave her alone afterwards. 

"In a way? So wait, was that your first kiss together? What happened? I want to know." Toph was not backing down. She was obviously going to keep bothering Katara until she spilled.

Katara sighed. Toph was relentless. In a quiet voice, she explained everything, from the escape from the river up to when she saw them kissing. "It was…a feeling I never experienced before…It was as if my heart and mind forced me to move…I…really love him…but I have a terrible feeling that he doesn't…like me back. At least in that way."

"Why do you feel that way Katara..? You're awesome and any guy would be lucky to have you... Is Zuko good looking?" Toph was genuinely curious, with no ill intentions.

The Waterbender's blush deepened, "Th…thanks…" She looked up at Zuko, and smiled, "And yes…he is…" She felt like an excited school girl whenever she looked at him. But it wasn't just his appearance. His personality, his strength…All of it was revealed to her when they entered that spirit state. Yes, he was a whiny spoiled Prince at some times…but at others…he was a loyal friend.

"Oh, do you think he finds you good looking? Because I know Aang's head over heels for you.. So you're not interested in Aang, huh." Toph brushed the bangs out of her face, giving a small leftover sniffle from her earlier cry.

Zuko had remained in his position for quite some time, offering no inside glance into how he felt.

Katara wrapped her arms around her legs, feeling insecure, "I don't know…Aang…well…I don't know how I feel about him. I know he likes me and all…but I find it hard to like him back. He just…doesn't have the same effect on me as Zuko…maybe it was something that happened when he saved me from freezing myself…" She closed her eyes. She doubted it. She remembered the time in the cave…She was so comfortable around him. Aang…she didn't feel anything around. He wasn't a man yet…Zuko was. She hugged her knees close to her chest.

"Wow... You're choosing between a prince and the savior of our world. Either way you win out pretty nicely. I'd talk to Zuko... Especially now while you know.. you two are somewhat alone. Do you want me to make myself scarce? I can go to sleep or something. As much as I'm friends with Aang I know you really REALLY care about him too, and so you must have a lot of feelings for the fire Prince." Toph smiled understandingly.

Katara smiled at Toph. She felt so much better now. Toph's reassurance warmed her heart a bit more, and the cold wasn't as bad anymore, "Yeah…you should get to sleep. I'll talk to him." She gave the blind Earthbender a hug and whispered, "Thanks." Before going over to Zuko's side. Her heart sped up as she took a seat next to him. 

"Zuko…Can we talk?"

Toph began to 'sleep'. She didn't need to keep her eyes open to keep her 'eyes' open.

Zuko blinked out of his tired thoughts, and his heart began thumping again. "Yes...?"

Katara cross her right arm over her stomach and grabbed her left arm, her nerves getting the best of her. She didn't know where to start…She had to ask him something…anything, that would give her more answers on how he felt.

"What happened before…I'm sorry…I don't know what came over me…"

Apparently not having expected that answer, Zuko stuttered over his words. "I.. also don't know.. what came over me. I'm sorry.. It was really uncalled for... You're like.. a sister.. And.. I just.. thought you wanted it.." He really did think she wanted the kiss, and that he was obliging. At least until she apologized, and now he felt like an uncivilized oaf.

Katara's heart sank at his sister comment. "No…no…it is…what I wanted. Zuko, I…I…" She swallowed painfully, and forced herself to say the words, "I love you."

Zuko leaned back, a dumbfounded look on his face. It was as if no one's ever told him such a thing before. He appeared completely thrown off. _I was ready for her to say just about anything but this.. No girl ever told me that before._ He gulped, forcing himself to think of something to say. "Y-you... love me..? But why..?" He couldn't wrap his mind around it. Even Mai didn't care about him the way Katara was, and they'd recently been enemies. It was almost as confusing as finding out Roku was his other grandfather. Well, not quite but he still felt pretty floored by this.

Katara saw his reaction…studied it, and prepared herself for a complete outburst on his part. But his flustered, questioning tone caught hold, and she turned her sapphire eyes towards him, "I…in these past few days…when we were alone…I've realized that we have more in common than I let myself believe. And you've been so caring towards me…after all that I've done to you when you first joined us…It was honorable on your part…like the Prince you were born to be."

"You really feel that way?" He still seemed to have issues comprehending her. He.. was 'loved' by a 'girl'? He touched his scar, trying to figure it out. "I.." He was speechless. What could he say? He didn't even know how he felt back.

Katara nodded, "Yes, I do. Ever since you saved me from myself…my feelings for you have grown stronger and stronger." She turned her gaze downward and a small smile came onto her lips, "I can hardly stand being separated from you now."

Zuko seemed worried at that last comment. _She can't stand to be separated from me? What about Aang! What have I done! She's swooning over me and I just kissed her! I don't understand girls! AUGH!_ Clearing his throat, he tried to appear to react positively about that. "Well.. that's nice..."

Katara looked up. She could see a hint of uncertainty in his gaze, and her smile vanished. "I…I mean…Augh!" She smacked herself in the head, feeling really ridiculous after what she just said. She didn't want to make him uncomfortable…although she seemed to have done that quite enough today as it was…She sighed and rested her head on her arms.

Zuko's right cheek pinked and he remained silent for some time before managing to come up with anything. "I don't want anything to change between us... I'm not sure why I kissed you.. but.. I do know that I care about you.. a lot. You're my closest friend.. Even though we haven't known each other very long.. um.. well.. I mean.. besides me attacking you..." He motioned for her not to respond yet and took a few moments more to come up with what he said next. ".. My heart and body belong to my nation.. and.. so it makes things a little complicated.. I'm not sure how I feel.. because.. there's so much uncertainty in my life right now.." So many things were pending, his relationship with Mai certainly being a factor. Becoming firelord would be a factor; not becoming firelord would give him completely different options and goals.

Katara closed her eyes, taking in every word he said. So he wasn't sure about how he felt…It was almost painful to hear, but she should've expected it, especially after it came on such short notice. The fact about him being the future Fire Lord…that was the main complication in her eyes. She knew that the Fire Nation probably wouldn't be too happy about the prince having a Waterbender as a girlfriend…it made no sense. They're homelands were completely different, and so far apart. Her doubts were there, but they didn't change her mind about him at all. She still loved him, and even if he didn't feel the same way back, her feelings would never change.

When Katara didn't reply, the prince swallowed hard. He wasn't exactly sure what she was thinking, or if things had suddenly changed between them again. He wished she still didn't know him, that he was cloaked in mystery once more so that she would stop feeling for him. It wasn't that he didn't feel complimented by it or that he didn't have the potential for feeling the same way, it was that his situation and responsibilities weren't fair to her. And he was most of all afraid of rejecting her. He valued her a lot. He looked down painfully. He was so tired but his whole body had tensed again. As great as kissing her was, he was contemplating enough potential consequences to make it regrettable.

"Can't we still be... friends?"

Katara feared the silence that came between the two. Her mind was clouded with hundreds of thoughts, each trying to make itself clear to her. At his words, she didn't know what to think. Was he rejecting her? Was he afraid that she would hate him if she did? All these questions…she had no answers to them, and she gave him a weak nod murmuring, "Yeah…of course we can."

"That's good..." Zuko didn't believe her. She didn't sound very reassured, and he began to feel angry. For once in his life, he wished friends didn't come with something else attached. _Money, love. The only real friend I have is Aang, and I betrayed him. After all he's done for me. This is really messed up. She can't love me._ Half formulated ideas filled his mind as to how he might be able to make it up to Aang somehow, because even though he THOUGHT Katara was his friend she obviously wouldn't settle for that, even though she said she would. _She's lying. She doesn't even want to be my friend._

Katara heard the unbelieving tone in his voice and she looked at him. He looked mad…

"I…I'm getting tired…I think I'm going to rest for a bit…" She was afraid to leave his side. She didn't know what else to do. She told him how she felt about him, and it only seemed to make matters worse. She shouldn't have said anything at all. She should've kept her feelings to herself, but she just HAD to. The Waterbender placed her hand on Zuko's shoulder, trying to reassure him, to show that she really cared about him.

Zuko's eyebrow furrowed worriedly, sadly. His emotions had changed rather suddenly. He went from angry to sad and confused. _I think she cares. But does she think she and I might.. have a chance? I don't know. I'm so confused. How does anyone even like me that much? And I have so much else on my mind. I'm not even sure what I'm doing. And I'm so tired._ A pout escaped his lips, and he almost seemed like an insecure child. _This isn't her fault. It's mine. And now I've got one more thing I need to fix._

Katara gave him a weak smile, and gently squeezed his shoulder, "Get some rest, Zuko. We'll search for Aang and Sokka once the storm clears. But right now…we all need our rest." She was feeling exhausted herself. That was the second time her own element tried to kill her. It wasn't a very pleasant thought. She wanted to close her eyes and leave behind the events from the day, if only for a short while. But she wanted to make sure Zuko fell asleep. He was tired, she could see it in his eyes, but she knew how stubborn he was, and didn't want him to stay up.

"Rest.." Zuko closed his eyes, still sitting up. Once the idea of rest came to him, it nagged him incessantly. His whole body was begging for it. Rest. "I'm okay.. I'll keep watch for them." He wasn't tired enough to convince his mind.

Katara shook her head, "No, you're not okay. You've been stuck in that river for hours! And you didn't get much sleep. Go lay down." She pointed over to an empty spot by the fire pit. "I'll keep an eye out." She inwardly groaned at the idea. She needed her sleep too, but she wanted the Fire Prince to rest. He needed it more than she did.

Zuko watched her. The glaring game ensued, but Katara won because Zuko's vision became blurry. He made a small noise in defeat and laid down near the fire, staring into it. While lying down he felt a little cold. Part by part his body fell asleep, but his mind remained awake. His eyes stayed open, just barely. He forced them to close after a few minutes, wincing in order to sleep.

Katara watched him as he lay down, and wondered if he was going to be able to get some sleep. She sighed softly and gazed out at the rain pouring down outside. It came in a seemingly endless torrent, darkening the whole world outside. Even if Appa flew over, she probably wouldn't be able to see. She felt her eyelids drooping, but forced them open once again. She looked over at Zuko to take her mind off of the tiredness. His back was turned to her, so she couldn't see his face. Her shoulders fell as she thought of his reaction. He wasn't happy at all with what she'd done. At least that's what it seemed like. She closed her eyes and hugged her legs tightly to her chest. She felt herself dozing off…unable to keep herself awake. She felt the cold wind against her skin, and she rubbed her arms. She wished Zuko would stand up, come to her side, and wrap his arms around her. But it wasn't going to happen…not after what she'd done. Tears rolled down her face, and she didn't even try to stop them from falling. 

Zuko felt himself drifting. Finally, all was peaceful for him. His body slowly had unwound enough to fall into slumber. His shoulder hurt. The exposed shoulder hurt once more. The peace shattered in his mind and he opened his eyes to figure out whatever that was. Nope, it was in his head. _I'm in my ship again? Okay..._ He rubbed his eyes, hopping off his bed which was nailed to the floor. "Uncle.. I want to see him... How long was I asleep?" The weather was dark and it was storming he found out once he reached the deck. No one was on board. It creeped him out.

Katara's eyes shot open as she heard Zuko muttering something. She turned her sleepy eyes towards him, and saw that his foot twitched slightly. He was dreaming…She wiped her face with the back of her hand to get rid of the tears and curled up on the ground in front of the entrance to the earth tent. She faced inward, keeping her back to the wind, and kept her eyes on Zuko. It hurt to see his back turned to her like that. Though if he did it on purpose or not, she didn't know, but she felt he did.

Zuko walked throughout the empty halls, looking through empty rooms. Nothing felt right. He felt so lonely and sad. Mai appeared beside him and walked along side him, telling him about how boring it must've been riding on a boat with a bunch of men for three years. He listened, but only so intently because he felt so lonely.

Toph threw another rock at Zuko, hitting him in the shoulder, but he was out cold. She crawled over to Katara. "So that didn't go well, huh."

Katara looked down at the ground, her eyes watering once again, "No…it didn't." She tensed up, her shoulders shaking as sobs began to wrack her body. She didn't want to show Toph that she was hurt this badly, but she couldn't help it. It hurt so bad…and she didn't know how to make it stop. "T…T…Toph…I d..don't know…what to d…d..do"

"Woah, Katara... Cool it with the waterworks.. You need to take a deep breath. No man is worth these kinds of tears. I think a guy like Zuko just needs to be proven you're worth it. You shouldn't follow him around like a little school girl. I think... you need to be... the 'man'.. Like you've been before you fell for him. There's still hope. Just because he's rejecting you now doesn't mean anything. You can woo him." Toph gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Toph's words seemed to hit home within Katara's mind. It was times like this that she enjoyed having the young Earthbender at her side. She gave a small sniff and took a shaky breath before wiping her eyes. It was so great to have Toph's support…now she didn't feel like she had to face the problem alone, "Thanks Toph…" She smiled warmly and wrapped her arm around the young girl's shoulder, "You're right…there is still hope."

"Yeah, all we gotta do is push him a bit. I'll bet that'd work." Toph smiled, feeling Katara's more lighthearted state.

Katara lifted an eyebrow, "And…how do you suppose we do that? You'd probably come up with something better than I can." She gave a nervous chuckle. She was beginning to feel much more hopeful. Toph had that effect on her sometimes. The Earthbender was a good motivator.

"Well if I were you, I'd just romance him. I wouldn't sit around idly worrying about how he felt. He doesn't know how he feels, so let's help him make that decision. I'm sure he finds the tough, confidant Katara more than the mopey dopey Katara. I know I do." Toph pondered for a moment. "I don't know what's romantic really. That's more up to you..."

Katara tapped her chin in thought and nodded, "Yeah…I think I'll come up with something." She closed her eyes and covered her mouth as she yawned, "But…after I take a nap…I'm exhausted from rescuing him. You should get some sleep too. Aang and Sokka won't be out in this storm, it hasn't stopped yet."

Toph nodded and curled up beside Katara, closing her eyes. It was nice to have Katara near her during the storm. Storms always irritated Toph. There was too much noise, too much vibration hitting the ground.. It was slightly overwhelming. But with Katara nearby Toph could sleep okay.

Katara rested her hand on Toph's shoulder in a comforting gesture and closed her eyes completely, feeling exhaustion overwhelm her. She was aware of the dull roar of thunder and the pattering of rain against the shelter and the ground. Unfortunately, no peaceful sleep was going to come to her tonight.

_She was forced to her knees before a familiar wall of fire. Her wrists were bound, and she could feel the sharp steel point of a spear pressing against her back. When she lifted her head, she saw Fire Lord Ozai, as she had seen him in Zuko's memory, stepping down from his throne. A look of pure and utter rage was on his face._

"_This…peasant? Has feelings for my son, the future Fire Lord! That boy is a disgrace! An utter disappointment! He dare show affection to this piece of Watertribe trash!"_

_Katara shivered and closed her eyes, feeling sweat run down her brow. She looked desperately left and right for help. Zuko was nearby, holding Mai within his arms._

"_Zuko! Please! Help me!" She cried out to him, but he seemed to ignore her as he held Mai's chin in his hand and kissed her tenderly on the lips. Katara felt her heart skip a beat, and stared wide-eyed at the two._

Zuko woke up four hours later, still tired. But his stomach had growled so loudly that it woke him up. He looked around to see Toph who was fiddling with a stick, poking her foot with it. "What.. how long was I asleep?" Toph shrugged. "I-unno.. Um... You fell asleep around noon.. I think it's more around mid afternoon... so what.. four, five hours? The rain's still going, but it's starting to settle down a bit..."

_Katara tore her gaze away from the two lovers, and watched as Ozai drew nearer. A ring of flames surrounded her after the guards holding the spears stepped back. She could feel the intense heat. Sweat ran down her brow. Where was everyone? Aang, Sokka, Toph…Zuko. She couldn't see him anymore over the flames. Part of her didn't want to…she couldn't stand seeing him with Mai, kissing her like that. It hurt more then the heat of the flames that surrounded her._

"_You foolish child. You're pathetic dreams will die with you today. You don't belong in the Fire Nation, and you don't belong with Zuko." He bent his elbows and held back his fists as flames surrounded them, sending waves of heat flying thorugh the room. Katara's eyes widened in shock as Ozai threw his arms forward, and the huge flames came at her. She cried out as the flames struck her._

Katara screamed and shot up from her position on the ground, her heart furiously pumping as sweat ran down her face.

Toph jumped, but Zuko just turned his head and watched her. She didn't seem well at all. She was sweating and her hair was beginning to mat to her face as a result to the sheer amount she was sweating. It wasn't very warm in their shelter; it was quite the contrary. He moved over to her and felt her forehead while asking "are you feeling alright?"

Katara pulled back, as if frightened that her dream was still going on, but when she saw Zuko, she felt reality come back to her and her breathing slowly began to return to normal. She felt her soaked hair against her face and placed a hand up to her head, feeling how wet it was, "I…I…I think so…just had a…bit of a nightmare…" She shuddered, hugging her legs close to her. It looked…and felt…so real. It frightened her, more than anything had before. She wanted to be held…to be told everything was okay. Her heart continued to beat frantically despite her realization that it was just a nightmare. A terrible, aweful nightmare…

Pulling his own outer robe off, Zuko placed it around Katara. "You're burning up. Why don't you lie down for a little while longer?"

Toph frowned at this news. "What, Katara's getting sick? Now what are we going to do? We can't go out looking for Sokka and Aang if she's too sick to travel." The prince shook his head, placing a hand on Katara's shoulder. "It's best we stay put anyhow so that Aang and Sokka can scan the area on Appa and find us. You made a pretty obvious earthbended tent. They'll spot it."

Katara closed her eyes, "I'm not sick…I'm fine…" She tried pushing herself up to a sitting position and crashed back down, "Augh! We can't stay here and do nothing! I'll be fine! We have to find the others! I just had a nightmare, that's it!" She winced as an image of Zuko kissing Mai flashed through her mind and a sick feeling came to her stomach. Man, when she got sick…she got SICK.

Zuko tucked her in with his outer robe, reinforcing her laying position. "We need to stay here anyway. The storm's only barely let up." He rubbed his hair out of the way of his forehead. "You need to continue laying down Katara. We're staying here and waiting for Aang and Sokka. They have Appa, so strategically they can cover more ground anyway." Toph sat beside Katara, touching her forehead. "Wow.. that is pretty bad."

Katara closed her eyes, feeling Toph's hand upon her forehead. The Earthbender's palm felt unusually cool…either that or her head was unusually hot. How did that happen? It was just a dream…it wasn't real, but she still felt as if the flames were burning around her. It was the most realistic dream she had…even more than the ones about her mom…She looked over at Zuko, her eyes weak and tired, was he the reason? Her nightmare…did it have anything to do with what happened a few hours ago?

"What was your dream about Katara?" Toph watched her general form with a mix of concern and curiosity. She'd never really seen someone get very sick before. She wasn't allowed near the servants while they were sick and only once that she could remember was her father ever pretty ill, but he didn't allow himself to go near her.

Zuko sat at the entrance, glancing up and watching for Aang and Sokka. The storm clouds were still there, but the pounding had turned into heavy drizzling.

Katara looked away from Toph, "I…don't want to talk about it…" She motioned to Zuko weakly with her head, "Especially in front of him…" she whispered. "Maybe later…" She curled up in the robe and clutched it tightly around her, feeling a sharp pain beginning to form in her head. Her eyes closed, trying to get rid of the headache. Why did this stuff have to happen to her?

Zuko walked out into the rain, pulling out a silk handkerchief and dipping it into a large puddle delicately as to not cause the mud to wash up. He then wrung it out-- it wasn't as good as a washcloth but it would have to do-- and walked back to the camp, placing the cool handkerchief on Katara's forehead. Although he didn't say it, he was worried.

Katara's eyes cracked open slightly as she felt the coolness against her head. She saw Zuko looking down at her…was that concern in his eyes? She couldn't tell. Her mind was a bit fuzzy, the images from her dream still burned within her thoughts. She felt like a complete mess, probably because she was, but she gave Zuko a small smile and muttered, "Thanks…" feeling the coolness of the damp handkerchief against her skin. "I'm…sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me…" It was a lie, the dream was causing this, though why she didn't know.

Sokka wrung his outer clothing out once more before putting it on. "Finally, the storm is starting to let up." He and Aang had been forced to stop in an abandoned temple, which appeared to be heavily influenced by airbenders, yet wasn't an airbender temple. It didn't really matter too much, because they wouldn't be there for much longer. "We need to find the others; we're behind schedule now."

Aang sighed in relief. "Yeah…I'm kind of worried, what if they didn't find shelter?" His worries were piling up. He nervously scratched Momo behind the ear a bit too hard, and the lemur screeched in outrage and flew onto Appa's back. The bison lifted his head and gazed out outside, eager to take flight once again. The bison was obviously unnerved at the lack of passengers. He shuffled his middle feet nervously. "Well, we can't brood on it now. Let's get going. The sooner we find them the better." Aang shot himself up onto Appa's head with Airbending and waited for Sokka to mount the saddle. When they both were settled, he cried out "Yip Yip!" With a desperate tone in his voice, Appa, sensing his urgency, gave a loud roar and soared out of the temple into the soft drizzle outside.

The two benders sat beside each other in silence beside the ill Katara. Zuko turned around and looked at Toph and Toph shrugged, feeling his stare. "... I'm bored", he whispered quietly as to not disturb the stillness.

"What do you want ME to do about it?" Toph's sarcasm spoke louder than she did. "I don't know. I'm just bored." The prince shuffled his feet in the ground a bit as he sat. Uncaringly, the earthbender began picking her nose while she offered her suggestion. "Why don't you sleep some more?" Zuko shrugged in response. "I guess." He leaned against the wall, taking a breath in and out.

Katara closed her eyes, but refused to fall back to sleep. She didn't want to see it again…the horrible nightmare. She gave a small groan and pulled the waterskin Zuko gave her up to her side. She weakly streamed a bit of water from it, noticing that the water was wobbling dangerously, and quickly held it in a ball above her hand and drank it. Still thirsty, she repeated the process two more times. When she tried one last time, the water paused in midair and splashed down to the ground. The Waterbender's hand fell limply to the ground. She was too tired to bend. Too tired to stay awake. She gave a groan and curled up in a tight ball beneath Zuko's coat.

"Sokka! Do you see anything down there?" Aang kept his eyes open for any signs of a shelter that the others could have stayed in for the storm. A river stood not too far from where they flew, so he gently nudged Appa with the reins and the bison roared before turning to follow it.

Toph recognized what Katara was attempting and helped Katara to drink some water from the waterskin. Zuko had fallen asleep; she could tell by his even breathing. Especially since it was snorty breathing.

Sokka kept an eye out for anything. A bridge appeared in the distance and he noticed it had broken down. Not too long after, he spied a suspicious rock formation. "Hey Aang! Do you see that rock over there? Let's check it out."

Katara gratefully accepted the water and closed her eyes. However, they shot open once again as she heard the familiar sound of Appa landing and her head lifted to look out the entrance.

"Guys!" Aang leapt down from Appa's head and ran into the cave, relief showing clearly on his face, "We're so glad you're okay! You're…" He looked down at Katara, seeing that she looked ill, and once again he was concerned, "What happened!" He saw Zuko was sleeping nearby and he gave an embarrassed look before whispering, "Uhh…I mean…what happened?"

Toph ran over to Aang and Sokka and gave them a hug. "I'm so glad to-- feel you guys! Uh.. you know what I mean..." She turned away from them, trying to figure something out. "Well, um... I couldn't tell what happened. I think Zuko was drowning or something and Katara saved him. But I'm not exactly sure. And then Katara got sick." Sokka made a face. "But I told you to keep an eye out for Katara." Toph's brows lowered. "Yeah, sure Sokka." She watched his general direction with annoyance. "I kept track of her until she went in the water. And it's not like I can swim." Sokka sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Right, water isn't something you can see into is it..." He let Katara's appearance get the best of him until that moment. It wasn't Toph's fault, he was just feeling a little upset. "I'm glad you're all okay."

Katara pushed herself up to a sitting position, "I'm fine…you don't have to be worried." She rested her hand upon her head and swayed slightly, but forced herself to remain in a sitting position, "We need to wake up Zuko and go…as soon as possible. We're already off schedule as it is."

Aang shook his head and pressed down on her shoulder to force her to her back, "No, we're not going anywhere while you're still sick. It can wait."

Katara's eyes narrowed, "No it can't! We've wasted enough time as it is! Everyone's counting on us. I'm not going to drag the entire group down just because of some stupid nightmare!"

"A nightmare...? Nightmares don't cause illness Katara.. It's the other way around." Apparently Zuko had awakened. He forced himself to stand up, seeming very tired. He smiled at Aang slightly before speaking his disagreements. "Katara's right. We can't afford to stay in one place right now. My sister could be trailing us as we speak. We should take advantage of the confusion from the storm and travel as far as possible." Sokka's face twisted in pain. He knew Zuko was right, but Aang was too. Katara looked pretty sick. "But she's really sick.." Toph shook her head. "Yeah, but traveling will be better for her than waiting for Azula. Zuko has a valid point. We should get going now."

Katara nodded, "I'll rest on Appa, I'll be fine." She grabbed Aang's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze for reassurance, "The sooner we leave the better."

Aang sighed and nodded, "You guys are right…let's get going." 

Katara started to get up, to walk out to Appa, but Aang shook his head and placed his arms beneath her before lifting her off the ground. She looked away, and he frowned. The sickness wasn't the only thing getting to her, he could tell. But he didn't say a word. Instead he brought her outside, lifting his hand over their heads to bend the water away from them. Katara shivered as the wind met her wet skin, but she just wrapped the coat tighter around her. Soon she felt the soft saddle against her back, and she curled up in the corner of it. Aang kept bending the water away, and looked over at Sokka, "Can you steer? I have to keep this rain back."

Katara murmured, "You don't need to do that…I'll be fine…" 

Toph destroyed their shelter, leaving no trace of it for Azula to find. Sokka took Appa's reigns and the rest of the group mounted Appa as well. Toph sat beside Aang and Sokka and Zuko took a little corner to himself, brooding over something or other. He began drifting off once more. Toph held on tightly to the saddle as Appa took off. The bison was eager to get out of that area. Momo curled up on Katara (as it was warm and dry) and began to fall asleep.

Katara felt herself drifting off, despite wanting to stay awake, and soon her eyelids became too heavy to keep open anymore. Her mouth opened partially and she breathed softly as exhaustion set in.

Aang's arms were getting sore, but he continued to hold them up to shield his friend from the rain. Something had been nagging at the back of his mind for a long while now. Katara seemed so distant from him…They used to be so close. He never really had stopped to see her reaction to their kiss before the invasion. He just left without another word. He wondered why she didn't like him back in the same way. He was her best friend, well…that was until Zuko came along. The jealousy returned and Aang turned a disgruntled glance towards the Firebender. Something was going on between the two, he just knew it. But he knew nothing about them and how their relationship was. It unnerved him, especially since he promised Zuko he wouldn't let his jealousy get the best of him. 

"So where are we going first?" he asked over the rain to Sokka.

Sokka looked behind him in order to speak properly to Aang. "We're traveling south-east until we hit a village and then we're stopping for the night." The prince inwardly shouted happily, _hurray! We're going to sleep on beds! Or futons! Or something other than ground!_ All those thoughts began to make him even more tired and he fell asleep, completely ignoring the rain and how cold he was without his outer robe. It seemed Toph was reading Zuko's thoughts. "Yay! A comfy bed! Pre-made food! I can't wait. Ahh I would love to eat some creme puffs."

Aang smiled at Toph's enthusiasm and he watched as Zuko fell asleep. He stretched his other arm over head, blocking the Fire Prince from the rain as well. Sure, he'll be sore, but his friends needed all the help he could give.

"It'll be nice staying at an actual inn, come to think of it." Aang said with a smile, "It's been a while since we've slept in anyplace except the ground. I'm glad to be in safe territory again…" He recalled Azula and coughed softly, "Well…safe from a majority of the Fire Nation at least."

"Yeah, and safe from excessively spicy foods. I mean, it's already hot in the firenation. Don't you think they'd invent 'cooling' food? If it's so hot, why would you want to eat hot food?" Sokka's face turned to one of mild annoyance; complaining was something he enjoyed though, so his tone was light hearted. Toph smiled happily, rather enjoying hearing Sokka's contented discontent once more. It was relieving and lulled her back into the sense of security she had lost earlier that morning. Zuko in particular was getting himself into a lot of trouble. He was troublesome, and trouble followed him. It was almost as if he were unintentionally still evil and undoing the tight bonds of the group from the inside. Of course, perhaps the others thought she was unraveling the group's tight bonds when she first joined, and she didn't take these thoughts seriously.

Aang laughed and smirked at Sokka, "If vegetables and fruits taste better and are easier to find, then why would you want to eat meat?" He had to chuckle at Sokka's complaints. He had been pretty quiet for most of the time during the storm (Not completely, that would be nearly impossible for Sokka), and it was good to see him lighten up quite a bit. The Avatar's eyes strayed back down to the sleeping Katara. She looked so ill, and from the expression on her face, it appeared that the nightmares were still plaguing her mind. He wished he could help, he really did, but she wouldn't open up and tell them what's bugging her. She liked keeping to herself, as if afraid her problems would only be a distraction to the group. She cared so much more for them than herself…He admired that in her.

"What? Meat's not that hard to get, and plus it's way more delicious than fireflakes or fruity veggies whatever! When we pull into town I'm getting myself a HUGE steak! On Zuko of course." He pulled a nice shiny couple of gold pieces from inside of his shirt. "It's Sokka tax." Toph tried to figure out from the context just how much money Sokka had taken from the poor.. well.. soon to be poor prince. "Food sounds pretty good."

Aang had a look of irritation as Sokka mentioned steak and he frowned as he saw the money, "You really should stop taking his money. What if he needs it for something? And what if we run out of supplies? Then you would regret eating that meat" He made a disgusted face, "And would wish that you saved some money for more important things."

_Katara's eyes were narrowed in a glare as she faced off against Azula. A stream of water in the shape of a dragon circled around her. When she saw the left side of its face, she saw the small indents of a scar resting over its eye._

"_Do you really think that my brother loves you?"_

_Katara tore her glance away from the dragon's face and looked up at Azula, her fists clenched. She refused to speak out._

"_That's a shame, really. You've spent all this time getting close to him, trying to get him to like you…" Azula rolled her eyes, "But face it, he still loves Mai, and you know it."_

_The Waterbender glared in defiance, "No…you're wrong!"_

The Avatar's attention turned to Katara. Did she just say something? 

Toph's ears twitched. She had apparently heard something as well; but other than her ears, she didn't seem to react. "I hope Katara feels better soon..."

Aang sighed sadly, "Yeah…I hope so too…" His arms felt like lead weights and he wondered how much longer he could bend the water. He had to lower his arms, and the barrier stood only a foot above Katara and Zuko. He would have to lift it up higher if they decided to wake up, "So how did she get sick?"

_Katara watched as the dragon circled protectively around her and reared its head above her shoulder. It wasn't made of water anymore. Now, gleaming red scales covered it from head to toe, and its form was more visable in its current state._

"_Zuko, you know that's true." Azula smirked, addressing the dragon, "You don't love this girl, you never could. Even if you wanted to, you need to know what's best for your nation. She's just a distraction, a weak-minded girl who needs to face the hard truth about reality."_

_Katara bristled. The dragon frowned and looked from her to the Fire Princess, a contemplative look resting on his reptilian face._

"_You love Mai, don't you?"_

_The dragon gazed down at the ground, and a tear rolled down his face. Katara looked at him with sympathy, and reached out to pat his neck._

"_Then destroy this girls feelings for you! She's a peasant, and you're a prince. She knows you love another and she completely fawns over you. Get rid of her before she becomes your downfall."A whip of fire appeared out of the Firebender's hand and she lashed it towards the dragon. When it struck the side of his face, he let out an enraged roar and took flight. Azula pointed towards Katara, and the winged beast circled through the air and charged at the Waterbender._

"_Zuko! No!"_

Katara shot up, crying out the last words of her nightmare, and breathed heavily as she felt the cold rain upon her head and shoulders. 

Toph frowned. "I don't know how she got sick. She just napped and woke up sick."

"Zuko! No!"

Zuko awoke with a start to the desperate call of his name. "Hm? What?" He looked over at Katara sleepily, trying to figure out what he even did. "What did I do? I'm just sleeping..."

Aang jumped with a start as Katara sat up and he quickly bent the water above her. Some of the rain landed on her, so he streamed it away, "Katara, what happened? Was it another nightmare?"

Katara swallowed painfully as her quick breathing began to slow down. She gave a small nod and collapsed down onto her back, clenching her teeth in irritation. She heard Zuko speak, and she weakly turned her head to him, "Nothing, Zuko…get back to sleep." She muttered.

Zuko made a face. "Are you having dreams about me?" Toph held back a mildly amused smile. "Dreams where you're being bad apparently." Sokka laughed at Toph's well placed comment. "Yeah! She burned you there Zuko! Er... Ha! That's funny too. Burn? Firebender? Ha ha."

Katara blushed and looked away after Zuko's comment. Thankfully, Toph eased up the embarrassment a bit, and Sokka's jokes caused a thin smile to appear on her face. 

Aang placed his hand on Katara's shoulder, "Hey, do you want to explain? Or is it something you don't want to share?"

Katara pulled away and turned to face the wall of the saddle, "I don't want to talk about it. Not now." She closed her eyes and an image of the dragon appeared in her mind. What did the dreams mean? She must've been apprehensive about Zuko ever since they kissed…

The prince glared in irritation before turning to fall back asleep.

Toph placed a hand on Aang's shoulder, as if to quiet him. "I think what Katara needs is to rest. She's really feverish and her dreams probably don't even make sense."

Aang gave a small nod, "Yeah…I know the feeling." He closed his eyes at the memory and gave a small chuckle. He watched as Katara's eyes began to close once again. He remained silent and looked back at Zuko, wondering what his Firebending Master knew about Katara's illness, if anything.

Katara's eyelids closed once again, despite her continuous nightmares. She tried to force herself to stay awake, but she continued to doze off and soon fell asleep once again.

**YAY ZUTARA! wOOt! XD**


	9. Episode 9: Problems With Fate

**This is the last one for now, we're still writing the RPG XD. Hope you enjoy it!**

**Episode 9: **Problems with Fate

Several long hours passed in silence. There was a timeless feeling to these hours, as if they were the same hour just stretched really long. The trees all appeared to be the same; as did the hills. This was no-man's land.

Eventually a small but well off town appeared in the distance and Sokka's bland face grew into a wide grin. "We're finally here everyone!" Appa was landed and given proper provisions as the group headed into Town. Zuko trailed behind the group. Sokka helped Katara to walk, her being his sister and all. Toph walked confidently beside them, not really caring that one was lagging behind.

The town was inviting and quaint, as if the firenation hadn't touched it. Probably since it was in a generally neutral territory, but also because it was in the middle of nowhere. There weren't many folk out, considering the weather was still a bit dreary. Also, it was beginning to be late.

Aang led the way to a nearby inn and gently rapped his knuckles against the door. An older woman answered the door and gave a warm smile to the Avatar, "May I help you?"

Aang nodded and motioned to the others, "My friends and I were hoping we could stay here for the night. One of my friends is really sick…and needs a nice place to rest. We've been traveling for quite some time."

The woman looked at the ragtag group of travelers, and nodded softly, "Of course you may stay. Come in come in." She opened the door the rest of the way and motioned inside, "I'll lead you to your rooms shortly and have a meal prepared for you. You all look exhausted."

Zuko looked around the cramp little inn. It smelled like old lady, just like the beach house he recently stayed in. Although it didn't look like the beach had thrown up all over the fabrics. The rooms were plainly decorated Earth Kingdom style. There was something so soothing about the element of earth that the prince inwardly enjoyed. "How many rooms are there? And how much money should we expect to pay?" The older woman eyed the firebender and then offered a kind smile. He certainly was a bit 'to the point', but it was alright. They were hopefully paying customers.

"There's three rooms available right now, and I'll charge by room for the stay, but by person for the meal... so that I may provide the best meal possible for you all." Zuko and she managed to figure out the price and he paid her with Earth Kingdom money. She obliged humbly and led them to their rooms, which she originally was going to do before Zuko had interrupted.

Katara gave a sigh of relief as Sokka placed her down gently upon the soft bed in the room. She pulled the covers over her shoulders and immediately her eyes closed. For the first time in the long, exhausting day, she felt like she was going to sleep peacefully.

Aang looked down at Katara and smiled, "Should we call you down for supper?"

She weakly nodded her head, "Yeah…some food ought to to me some good."

The Airbender watched as she relaxed and her gentle snores were heard.

Zuko had disappeared into one of the rooms. He curled up on the bed, his boots still on and everything, and fell asleep on his stomach.

Sokka pondered how they'd divide the three rooms. "Well, since Katara's sick, I want to sleep next to her. Aang, you sleep with the angry jerk, and Toph I guess you get you're own bedroom." Toph grinned widely. "Sweeet!" Sokka began to venture towards the room the food would be brought to them in. He just wanted to sit at a table and relax until there was some dinner on the table.

Aang looked at Toph and cleared his throat gently to get her attention, "Hey, Toph. Have you noticed that Katara's been acting a bit…different…around Zuko lately?" He tapped the tips of his forefingers together in nervousness, "She seems so distant from me lately, and closer to him. Why do you think that's so?"

"I dunno. I'm thinking maybe Zuko's some big charity case for Katara. She feels sorry for him ALL the time. And they have a lot in common too. I think she'll get over it in time. She'll discover Zuko doesn't even like being helped that much, and that he doesn't need it. Then things'll return to normal." Toph wasn't lying, but she wasn't about to say that Katara's way of translating her charitable feelings was calling it being 'in love' with Zuko. Toph was sure this wasn't real love. It was a young girl's obsession. Katara was being... her age.

"Hmm…" Aang tapped his chin in thought and felt a bit better about the whole thing, "Okay, thanks Toph." He left the room feeling a bit more confident. Maybe things would turn out right between them after all. 

He arrived in the room where Sokka was sitting in and he sat back at the same table, "So Sokka, how much are our plans going to change now that we're going to look for Iroh?"

Sokka sighed, twiddling his thumbs as they rested on the table. He watched them and then watched Aang. "We're going back to the Firenation. We're going to figure out more about this 'white lotus' by meeting with my master..." He rested his head on his hands.

Aang's eyes widened in shock, "Back to the Fire Nation! Isn't that a little risky...especially after the invasion?" He enjoyed his time there, he really did, but how would they get in without being noticed? Security around the Fire Nation must be top notch by now. And the Avatar really didn't have a good disguise. He pat his bald head self-consiously.

"Yeah, I know. That's the part I'm concerned about." Sokka lifted his head and glared into space, pondering. "You don't have a good history with head apparel. But Zuko's really set on this. If you want to continue learning firebending, it's as if we've gotta really take his opinion into account. And I guess I don't blame him for wanting to find his uncle, especially considering he may be a valuable resource for all of us. But I'm getting this weird feeling we shouldn't go to the Firenation right now..."

Toph sat beside Sokka. "So what would we do if we don't go to the Firenation? It's not like we had any plans of our own. Not really. The only thing I remember us planning is finding Aang a firebending teacher, and that's already happened."

Aang stood up and began pacing the floor, trying to think, "I think we really don't have a choice. Besides, the closer we remain to our original goal, the better. We can't be distracted with the comet coming in a few months. If Sokka thinks we should go to the Fire Nation, I say we should. We can disguise ourselves once again, I'll even grow my hair out if I can, and we'll find out where Iroh is with the help of Sokka's master." He closed his eyes, "I believe Katara saved our outfits from before, but we also must think...how will Zuko disguise himself? With his scar, he sticks out like a sore thumb."

"That's not all. He's the prince of that nation. Wasn't he even in your textbooks and stuff? I mean, EVERYONE has seen at least a picture of him. And the scar just makes it worse. I'm almost tempted to say we should split up, but I'm afraid because of what happened last time." Sokka rubbed his chin with his fingers. He was fiercely pondering, and just then, his stomach groaned. "Ough... I can't even think. I really could go for some smoked seaslug."

Aang sighed, "Yeah, splitting up would NOT be a good option now. We can think of something. We just need to get some nourishment. Then we can sit as a group and talk about this…well, depending on how Katara's feeling." He cast a worried glance back at the hall and sighed before kicking his feet out at the table before him.

"It doesn't matter. She can just rest. We'll fill her in on the plans once she starts to feel better. Mm.. Mmmm... I smell something delicious. It's in the kitchen.. I WANT IT... Ugh... I'm SOOOOO hungry..." And just like that, the strategist was rendered completely thoughtless.

After a few minutes of watching Sokka drool as the delicious smell came from the kitchen, Aang saw the elderly lady come out with trays full of different styles of Earth Nation food. She set them down on the table and placed a plate before each one of the guests, leaving one for the absent members as well, "I'll be sure to make some herbal tea for your sick friend. She has quite a fever…but I'm sure it's nothing a little bit of rest and relaxation can't handle. Please, help yourselves. If you need more, just come and ask me." She gave them a small bow and set off back into the kitchen to make the tea.

"AUUUHH DINNER..." The watertribe warrior began to dig in without even a second thought. "Hey Sokka, maybe we should get the missing members before stuffing our greedy faces. Come on Aang. Let's go get them.." Toph shook her head in disapproval before walking off to go get the others. "Mmmpph" Sokka managed a muffled reply, but continued to eat. He was so predictably sad sometimes.

Aang nodded and went to Katara's room, leaving Toph to wake up Zuko. He saw her sleeping so peacefully, he didn't want to wake her up, but she had asked him to, and he had to respect that.

"Katara…Supper's ready, you should really eat something."

The Waterbender gave a tired groan before opening her eyes just a crack. She turned her head to see Aang looking down at her, and she opened her eyelids the rest of the way before giving a tired nod, "Okay, I'll come out." She slowly climbed out of her bed, staggering slightly as she got to her feet. Aang quickly rushed to her side in case she was about to fall, but she waved him aside and walked forward, "I'm fine, I'll make it there." She was determined not to show any weakness, not in front of Zuko, after all that happened. Aang watched sadly as she walked out of the room without a backward glance. He followed her out and kept close behind her as she entered the dining room and took a seat.

Toph and Zuko walked over to their seats and sat down to their meals. Toph began to eat politely, heavily contrasted by Sokka's munching. Zuko picked at his food, barely touching it. He kept his eyes downcast, avoiding everyone else's.

Katara took her plate and picked at her meal. She took longer to chew then she should have, she just felt like her stomach couldn't handle the meal. But she forced herself to clear quite a bit of her plate. Her temperature had lowered considerably, she wasn't sweating as much as before, and when the innkeeper passed her the tea, the Waterbender smiled warmly as she took it.

"Okay, after everyone's done eating, we're going to brainstorm on what we're going to do next and how we do it." He looked at Zuko, "We believe finding Iroh is one of our first priorities, but we must figure out the means of doing so. Therefore, we believe we may have to go back into the fire nation." He waited for everyone's reactions, the remains of his all-veggie meal resting before him.

Zuko clicked his fork against the plate, avoiding the majority of the food altogether. _I should be hungry but I'm not. I haven't eaten since last night. That's almost 24 hours._ The group was talking something about strategy, but he wasn't really listening. _Uncle Iroh.. blah blah blah.. something about means. I just want to go back to sleep._ He looked at Aang, seemingly bored and uninterested in his food. He had complained about Earth Kingdom food before, so maybe he didn't like it.

Sokka continued to scarf his food, nodding at Aang's suggestion.

Katara remained silent for a few seconds, patiently sipping at her tea as the words registered back into her brain. Back to the Fire Nation? Alertness spread through her and she looked up, "But, wouldn't that be dangerous? They must be on high security after the attack."

"Actually…" Aang murmured, "That would be the last thing they'd expect. Just think about it for a moment. They know that I need to learn Firebending, so they would think we'd get as far as the Fire Nation as we could. The last thing they'd expect would be us hiding right under their noses, closer to danger. It's a brilliant plan. They'll be searching for us in the Earth Kingdom, but we won't be here for long."

"mmf.." Sokka finished swallowing. "No, actually they'd expect us to come back. Even though we found a firebender who's willing to teach you, there's still the matter of those we left behind. They're expecting us, and don't think they won't use everyone's knowledge of what the fire prince looks like against us. Zuko would give us away immediately. As much as I'd like to meet my master again, I'm not even sure this is worth the risk." He placed his fork down and looked at it. _Not many places use these things.._

Toph continued to eat, staring ahead. She was probably thinking about something. "Well, if we can't make it back to the firenation to find Iroh, where else would we go to find the White Lotus people?"

There was silence in the room.

"Zuko, don't you know of anywhere else we can find the Order of the White Lotus?" Toph turned her head to him. Zuko pushed away his practically untouched meal and sat his elbows on the table. He closed his eyes as he rested his head on his hands. "There was that time in the desert in the Earth Kingdom that I already told you guys about. I think they might be in other posts throughout the world. Just... hidden. We'll need to look for clues if we're going to look outside of the Firenation for the White Lotus."

Katara sighed, "Well, I'm sure we'll have plenty luck with that. The White Lotus must've remained hidden for generations, not even the Fire Nation could find it. So we need to think…how can we find a secret that big. Surely they may know by now that we're searching for them…Sokka's Master may have tipped them off, so we might not be alone. The problem is, how will we know we found them? We have to watch our step." She placed her near-empty cup upon the table and sat back, placing a hand on her warm head. She was feeling much better now, but her head hurt from thinking about this whole situation.

"We could just go to heavily populated areas and look in the shady bars for a pai sho table.. And try out the... statement we're supposed to say.. Which I remember." The prince gazed at Katara until their eyes met, and then he looked away. He began to watch Toph finish off the last of her food. Sokka looked at Zuko's full plate and raised a brow. "Hey, are you gonna eat that or what?" Zuko glared at him. "I'm saving it for later. You can't have any." The warrior frowned and pouted. "You didn't have to be so mean about it."

Katara saw Zuko catch her eye, and a bright shade of red began to spread over her face. She looked away after he did in case anyone noticed and she heard Zuko snap at Sokka. Had she been the way she was when he first joined the group, she would've started an argument, but now it barely registered in her mind. Her food lay half-eaten before her. Her head ached like crazy, but she just rubbed it and closed her eyes.

Aang caught Katara looking at Zuko from the corner of his eye and watched as she looked away. Was she…blushing? He clenched his fist, but let it relax. He had to think clearly. So what if she was crushing on Zuko…that's what girls did, right? He felt a pang of jealousy. 

Yet again it was silent for several long moments.

Zuko noticed that Aang seemed irritated about something before shrugging it off. It was silent, so he supposed the meeting was over. "Excuse me." He abruptly left, his food still on the table. He headed right back for his bed and laid back down.

Sokka glared in the direction the prince left and then eyed the food. "..mm..." He snuck one of the biscuits and began chewing on it. "I don't think his food would be any good in a few hours anyway."

Katara watched as Zuko left, and sighed as she shakily stood up and went to the hall, "I'm going to go to bed…I still feel a bit sick. I'll see you all in the morning." She waved half-heartedly and entered her room. She gave a small sigh and collapsed on the bed before weakly pulling the blankets over her shoulder. Within a few moments, she was fast asleep once again.

Aang rested his chin on his hands and gave a sigh to distract him from the confused thoughts in his mind. He watched as Sokka ate the food, and then gave a tired groan, "I'm going to get some sleep as well. We have a long day ahead of us." He went to Zuko and his room and lay beside the snoozing Fire Prince, turning his back to him as he gazed sightlessly towards the wall. He told himself he wouldn't let his jealousy get the best of him…he promised Zuko, and he was going to keep that promise, no matter what.

The prince groaned almost inaudibly. He'd already fallen fast asleep. He hogged the covers, curling into fetal position.

Sokka looked around and began to eat Zuko's food too. "Mmm.. Seconds..." Toph chuckled. "He's a picky eater or something, huh." Sokka shrugged in reply.

Aang looked out of the corner of his eye as Zuko stole the covers. He shook his head, but a small smile came to his face. Just a few weeks ago they were enemies. And now…they were friends. It amazed him to think how fate brought them together. He remembered one of his first conversations with Zuko…back when the Fire Prince became the Blue Spirit to save him from Zhao. He had asked the Prince if they could be friends…well…it appeared as if it were true, and he wondered if Zuko ever thought of the same thing, or even remembered that event.

The nightmares came. A few hours later the prince tossed and turned, actually managing to fall off the bed with a thump. He was rolled up in the blankets, his hair wet with sweat. "AHH!-- Ugh.." He forced himself to get up weakly, tripping over the blankets which he'd rolled himself up into. He looked over at his bedmate, checking to see if he'd woken him up. He unwraveled himself and placed the somewhat damp blanket over both of them. He wiped the sweat coming from his forehead. He decided he was now too hot and took off the blankets, covering Aang entirely with them.

Aang shot up as Zuko yelled and he held his fists out, still half-asleep as he looked around the room. Realizing Zuko had a nightmare, he fell back onto the bed and felt the covers being placed over him. First one half of them came, then the rest followed suit. He curled up inside of them and tightened his eyelids, hoping to get some sleep. He would have to ask Zuko about the nightmare in the morning. He was too tired to stay awake.

Grumbling to himself about the small bed, the prince fell asleep once more, grateful that the Avatar was too tired to pry like he usually would. Now if it were Katara, she'd ALWAYS pry. At least a little. _'Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?' She really cares about me. But I'm always pushing her away. Am I scared of being... loved?_ He felt his face grow hot and he spread his body out as much as he could on the bed. It was unbearable in there. How was the bald kid sleeping under covers? He slowly drifted off, dreaming about things any normal teen would. He dreampt about his friends, but especially Katara. The time they were hugging on the boat, talking about how they WEREN'T interested in eachother in that way, but more a sort of friendship way. The cool breeze, the warm sun, and that was the first time he even noticed she was a woman. 

The breeze grew worse, and he woke up once more. He was so cold. No wonder, Aang was hogging all of the blankets. The prince greedily took his half back and curled up in them. "Ew they're cold.. why are they so damp?" His body decided, 'nevermind I'm hot again'. So he took off the blankets in irritation. He held his head. It had been throbbing since he was saved by- ... A blush came to his face and he sat up. He wondered how she was feeling. His body was being a series of contradictions he noticed, just like his mind. He was really hungry, but he was not hungry at all. He kept sweating even when he was cold, and then he'd be hot again soon so it didn't really matter. No one even noticed he wasn't feeling that great, which he was happy about even though he shouldn't have been. He was a walking contradiction.

Standing up was harder than he thought it would be. He wasn't journeying like he'd done the night before. He just really had to go to the bathroom. He walked around, realizing a small place like this didn't have fascilities like that. So he'd have to go outside. He smacked into a couple walls in the dizzying dark, but he managed to do his business and sit outside for some fresh air. He didn't really feel tired anymore. His dizziness pulsated with his headache. He felt bad. "Probably gave it to Katara.. or did she give it to me? Or did we both just get it when.." He touched his mouth, slightly weirded out by the idea.

Katara gave a small groan as she opened her eyes, hearing someone bumping into the walls outside of the room. She saw Zuko's retreating form, and lay her head back down on the pillow. Most of her blankets were gone, Sokka had them tightly wrapped around him as he slept. It's not like she would be able to get back to sleep anyway…She was wide awake. Even as she closed her eyes, restlessness overtook her, and she found herself climbing out of the bed to get a breath of fresh air.

When she staggered outside, she saw Zuko sitting not too far from the inn entrance. Figuring he would want to be left alone, she took a few steps back and leaned against the doorway. Her eyes lifted towards the sky. The stars were really bright tonight…she never really had time to stargaze. Everything was happening so fast recently, she never really took the time to take simple pleasures in gazing at nature at it's best.

Taking in a deep breath of fresh air, Katara let it out in a soft, low sigh, feeling her sickness ebb away.

Zuko turned around in surprise, with an offensive position, but once he saw it was Katara he lowered his arms and his surprise turned to a small smile. "... Hey Katara.. I.. uh.. was just thinking about you. I mean... that came out wrong. I was just wondering if you were feeling any better." He scratched the back of his head the smile weakening into an awkward frown. He was embarrassed or shy or.. maybe a little tired. It was hard to tell, especially in the darkness of the night. But it was obvious he didn't mind her presence

Katara blushed, partially glad that he couldn't see in the darkness, "I'm feeling much better. Thanks for asking." She stood in her normal position for a minute, and, taking her chances, went over to his side and sat beside him, "So…are you feeling alright? You left dinner kind of early and you didn't look too well." She leaned forward to look at his face, a concerned look written on her own.

"Uh... YEAH.. I'm- uh- fine.. I was just.. so full. I ate some snacks earlier and uh.. enjoyed them a little.. too much..?" He was constantly looking back and forth, a good indication the prince was lying. And even if that itself didn't make it apparent... Yeeeah.

Zuko nodded, as if to agree with what he was saying and encourage Katara to do the same. He watched her for some sort of confirmation, a cheesy 'I'm absolutely serious' look on his face. _If only I knew what to change the subject to, because I'm not sure she's buying it_.

Katara chuckled, rolled her eyes, and shook her head, "You are THE worst liar I have ever encountered. I don't know why you even try." Her tone got a bit more serious and she sighed, "Why don't you ever LIKE to admit that something's bothering you? Do I make you feel that uncomfortable? Or is it that you don't want to show any weakness…because that's what you're born with?" She longed to placed a hand upon his shoulder, to comfort him, but she didn't know how he'd react. Especially after all that happened. The last thing she wanted to do was to make him uncomfortable.

His eyes widened and he pouted in response to Katara claiming he was a liar. He was about to object to the claim, but Katara continued to speak. Why did she always think it was because of her? He was like that to everyone. No one knew how he was feeling, so how was it about Katara? But she was the only one who asked, so he sort of understood why she might feel that way.

"... No.. it's not you.. It's... just.. I can take care of myself. I don't want anyone worrying over me. I don't need it. I've had to hold my own for a long time now.." He wasn't sure how to respond to the weakness comment because Katara was hitting a sore spot. It was true how he hated to expose any sort of weakness. But he didn't understand if she was talking about him being born weak.. or what.

Katara thought of what she said, and she blushed, "Ugh…I didn't mean you were born being weak, I meant that's the notion you were brought up upon." She smacked herself in the face and as she lowered her hand, she felt the tips of her fingers brush over the top of his hand and she pulled back, her heart furiously pumping. "I'm sorry…I uhh…" She rubbed the back of her head nervously, her face reddening.

Zuko disregarded her touch and her embarrassment. "My father brought me up to think I was born weak, and that it was disgraceful. He banished me for showing weakness in not wishing to fight him, my father. My mother told me that what matters is in my heart. That I continue to try, even when things are hard." He curled up, watching the grass with no particular emotion on his face. He seemed tired and cold.

Katara sighed, slightly disappointed that he didn't react, "She's right…" She looked at him, curled up on the ground, and she placed her hand upon his shoulder, "I'm sorry for what your father did to you. It must've hurt…and I can see how your outlook on life has changed, but that's no reason to shut out the ones closest to you. If anything, you should care for them, and let them know what's wrong so they can help you in the bad times." She felt the coolness of his skin, and she gave a small start, suddenly distracted, "Zuko…you're sick…"

"I'm okay." He took a deep breath in and out through his mouth. He wasn't pulling away, which was a good sign. He wasn't really denying it either. "You should get some sleep. Aren't you still sick..?" Well, now he was trying to switch the subject. Typical.

Katara's eyes narrowed slightly, "No, you're not okay. I'm fine, and I've had plenty of sleep. You need to get inside and get some rest." The authority in her voice rose clearly, and from her tone, she wasn't going to take no for an answer. 

"Okay.." He forced himself up, wobbly, using Katara's arm to aid him. But soon he collapsed on her, having lost his footing. Wrapping his arms around her tightly, Zuko looked up at Katara from his awkward, half standing position with a meek smile. "I blacked out for a second there.. heh.."

Katara's blush deepened and a smile threatened to come to her face. She cleared her throat to regain her composure and helped him back up to his feet. "Heh heh, it's okay…I understand." She felt the warmth in her face and she supported Zuko as well as she could as they walked back into the inn. She looked at his face from the corner of her eye, seeing his tiredness, but also the faint red color on his face. Her heart beat faster and she staggered slightly, but quickly regained her footing before they could fall.

Zuko felt himself turning red in the face and dared not look at Katara, but couldn't help himself. He took a small peek and then looked away again, becoming even more red. _Am I an idiot? Am I crushing on her? What's wrong with me! Okay get a grip.. get a girl... I mean.. get a grip.. I think I might have a slight fever or something. Yeah, that's it. It's not right. It's not okay. It's not even POSSIBLE. But..._ He took another glance and looked away again. _WHHY! Do I LIKE torturing myself! WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME! She's really nice to me. SO! As soon as I'm left alone I'm going to punish myself until I don't ever feel this way again. BAD! NO! IDIOT!_

"I think I'm starting to feel better now." He let go of her and walked quickly ahead, only to slam face first into a wall and fall over backwards. "OW!"

Katara's first reaction was to laugh, but she held it in, afraid to offend him. But it was way too funny. She quickly went to his side and gave him an awkward smile before holding out her hand, "Well, how about you let me help you the rest of the way…it's not that far."

The prince was left without dignity. His face was bright red, his hair shoved carelessly to the side of his head as he wiped it away. He watched her with one wide golden eye, the other trying to be wide as well. He then closed his eyes, his pride aching. "No.. I'm fine. I just didn't see that wall there." He almost wanted to laugh at himself for his own pathetic nature. It was typical of him, and he just wanted to laugh it off. He looked up at her, almost imploringly. His mind was screaming one thing and his heart was screaming another; his head was throbbing even harder to add to it. It made him really dizzy. "Katara..." _I'm so confused. Why don't you just lead me astray? No.. That's not good thinking. That's really not good. This is bad. I need to get to my room. I'm obviously not thinking clearly._ His heart jumped, naively hoping she couldn't see right through him. That his thoughts were only his, and he would wake up the next morning and remember how much he cared about Mai. But right now, he just didn't. He could care less about her. Which scared him, but didn't.

Katara saw the look on his face, and she felt her heart's pace quicken more than before. As he said her name, she felt the heat rise to her face. She had felt this way about him once before, back when she saved him from the river. She felt her hand lifting towards the side of his face, but stopped, afraid of what he might react if she kissed him again. Her fingers nearly brushed against the side of his cheek, but paused before she could do a thing. She felt her heart pounding, wondering what was going to happen next. What was she doing? She was blowing it…He was going to freak out and refuse to speak with her again. 

Zuko gulped. He could barely hear over the pounding in his ears. His heart thudded in his chest to match, and his head kept up with the beat. The room was starting to swirl a little again, causing the boy to concentrate on focusing on something. _Katara, I'm just going to break your heart. What am I thinking! I'm misleading her. I like her, but I can't DO this to her._ He took her hand in his and placed it down, but held it. He looked down at their hands, thinking about everything and nothing. _I need to get up. She's right. I need rest._ His legs refused to budge. Partially because he was beginning to feel too ill to stand, but mostly because his heart was finding excuses to stick around a little longer. He cursed inwardly, begging himself to reconsider these dangerous wishes. If he stayed around, something stupid would happen.

Katara felt him lower her hand and she felt a stab of fear in her heart for what she did. But when he kept holding on, she took in a deep breath and watched him carefully for a reaction. She couldn't tell if he loved her or not…He wasn't responding, and it frightened her a little bit, but she kept holding on. She opened her mouth to say something, to try and tell him how she felt, but the words couldn't come out, and she looked down at their hands, puzzled. She didn't know what to do…but she didn't want to lose him.

He took her other hand in his free hand. Her hands were so much warmer than his, and it was comforting. He just sat like that for a long moment, doing nothing else. A calm had blanketed his overwhelming thoughts, and all was silent but the throbbing. He heard Katara's fearful breathing and looked up at her, his eyebrow knitted in a hopeless look.

Letting go of her hands he embraced her, imagining that moment on the boat when everything felt right. When nothing else mattered. He held her close to him, hoping. Hoping something was right.

Katara's eyes widened slightly at Zuko's embrace. She hesitated slightly, but wrapped her arms around him to return it, and rested her head upon his shoulder. She felt tears roll down her face. She hated not being able to reveal how she truly felt, for fear of how he'd react. She hated having to hold her feelings in. And she hated not knowing how he felt about her. It hurt, yet at the same time, she wondered if it was better for her to not know. She slowly tightened the embrace, wondering why he felt so cold. She remembered his sickness, and held him close, sharing her body warmth like she had done in the cave not too long ago. 

Zuko felt a tear hit his back and grimaced. Now she was crying? It broke any sense of that lying false innocent security he'd managed to build himself. He couldn't do this to her. It was unbearably wrong to hurt her. So he'd have to hurt her. Which made very little sense to him. He wasn't sure how, but maybe if he made her HATE him again, she wouldn't hurt anymore. Or something... He let go, forcing her to look at him. He held her shoulders firmly, his gaze calculating. What could he possibly say that would make her angry? He knew how to handle the angry Katara. But this sad Katara.. he had no idea. "Why are you crying?"

Katara was forced to look into his eyes. She quickly blinked away the tears gave him a weak smile, "C..crying? Me? I must have something in my eye." She wiped away the tears on her face with the bottom of her palm, and felt Zuko's cool grasp remaining on her shoulders, "I'm fine. I'm just…a bit tired."He was worried…she had to brighten up. Her face took on a cheerier expression and she looked over towards his room, "So…should I help you? Or are you going to go off on your own and bump into something again?"

His cold look turned into a sheepish one. He was quiet, either pondering or completely taken back by her sudden change. "Yes... " He forgot what she even said, having to think about it for a moment. He really wasn't feeling well tonight. But it was probably working towards Katara's favor, as he forgot his original plan to make her hate him as well. His stomach ached more, growling yet sour. "I... what..?" He watched her sharp and beautiful features in the dark and smiled. She was such a pretty girl. "... Hey... I'm going to get some fresh air... it's hot." He got up and began stumbling back outside.

Katara saw him smile and blushed before watching him stagger out towards the door. He was warm again, huh? She smirked and, finding the perfect opportunity, had some water in a nearby vase shoot out and strike him square in the back, throwing him to the grass outside. The Waterbender quickly ran forward and stood before the doorway, blocking his way in, "Thought you might've needed to cool off a bit." She said with an innocent smile.

Zuko felt wet for some reason. "Why am I on the grass...?" He forced himself to sit, gazing up at Katara with this cute out-of-it look. "... Now I think I'm cold again... I think..."

Katara blinked and gave a little nervous chuckle, "Okay…I REALLY think you should get some rest now." She pulled the water off of him and helped him back to his feet, "No more of this. You need your rest, and you need it now." 

"Sometimes... when I feel tired.. I think about a lot of things... I'm feeling a little tired... I'm thinking about how.. remember the... time in the cave? It was nice... I mean.. But Aang doesn't really like sleeping that way I don't think... He's a sheet hogger too.." The prince closed his eyes as he walked back inside with Katara. "Ever wonder why sometimes everything moves? I try to close my eyes but it still feels like I keep moving." He opened them again, watching the moving room with keen interest. "I was sick for a long time not too long ago. I forget.. It felt like a couple of days but maybe it was more like a week. And it was after I set Appa free.. My uncle thought maybe it was because I was in such conflict with myself.. or something.." His voice became less and less audible as he mumbled, his legs growing heavier. "I think I'll lay down for a second. I'm not feeling well." He plopped right on the livingroom couch and lay there motionless, his nose smushed into the couch arm. It really didn't seem like a comfortable position.

Katara felt concern as the Fire Prince began to speak non-stop. And as he collapsed on the couch, she gave a small sigh before doing her best to adjust his position. She soon managed to get him on his side, and even placed a small pillow beneath his head. She sat beside the couch, her back to it, and watched as he slept. She needed to be nearby in case something was wrong. She wished her healing powers could stop sickness, and wondered if she could work on something like that. Sighing, the Waterbender leaned her head back against the bottom cusion of the couch and gazed up at the ceiling, her concern for the Fire Prince clearly shown in her expression.

After several minutes of sleeping, Zuko curled up on the couch and began watching Katara's figure in the dark. "... Katara.." He spoke quietly, as though not to disturb her. He liked how people would stay close to him while he wasn't feeling well. Maybe it was all of those recent happenings that made him sick, then he made Katara sick. He pondered on that. It was even worse than when he was trying to capture Aang. There was just no end to his pain this past week. He found a blanket on top of the couch and dragged it down, using it to warm himself up. 

A random memory came to him, of his mother sitting with him in the dark while he was sick. She stayed with him because he was prone to wander, partially. But because she loved him mostly. He imagined they were one woman for a moment, surprised by their similarities in the dark. As he grew into an older boy he was 'less likely' to misbehave and wander while he was sick, but his mother stayed by his side regardless. His heart pounded tiredly but nervously as he remembered everything. "Go to sleep..." He wasn't sure who he was telling that to.

Katara turned her head as she heard Zuko's small voice. He looked so ill…She remembered often taking care of younger members of her tribe when they became sick, after her mother passed away. Zuko reminded her of that now, and she refused to leave his side. He murmured something about her going to sleep, but she shook her head, despite the fact that he probably wouldn't see it in the dark. She couldn't sleep, not while he was in such bad shape. 

"... aren't we... leaving in the morning? You should get sleep... want a pillow?" Zuko sat up and gave her the pillow that was at his feet. He continued to sit up, watching her.

Katara took the pillow, but gave him a look of concern, "You need to lay down, I'll be fine. I'll just rest my head for a bit…but you need to sleep more than I do. Just lay down and rest, you deserve it." She gave him a warm smile and set the pillow on the floor. She lay her head gently upon it, but kept her eyes averted to watch him. 

Zuko laid back down and watched Katara back. He seemed pretty mellow. "... What're you thinking about right now...?"

Katara turned her gaze to the ceiling and gave a small shrug, "I don't know…just about what new adventures we're going to face in the next few days. And about how things have changed so much since the Day of Black Sun…I wonder if we can really pull this off. The arrival of the comet is coming closer and closer…and I don't know if I'll be ready before it comes."

".. hm. I'll be ready. I have to be... If not, I might make another stupid mistake like in Ba Sing Se." He kept watching her; his body was too heavy to move anyway. "I'm expecting to face both my sister and my father... I hope we don't need to..." The prince trailed off. _...kill them._ "My sister may be a monster but I've never wished her death. And.. I can't imagine being responsible for my own father's death." _Maybe I can't be ready for the worst case scenario. The permanent solution._

Katara frowned and turned her eyes back to him. It must be hard for him to imagine the death of his family. They may have brought it upon themselves, but taking lives was a subject Katara would never take lightly. She would rather see the Fire Lord and Azula in a deep prison, where they wouldn't be able to escape, than to have them be killed. But if it was necessary…She shuddered slightly. It was so complicated, just like everything else.

"... You don't think I'd double cross you guys do you..? Because I won't. I know my father has to be defeated in order to restore balance to the world. People hate the Firenation and I don't blame them..." He curled up under the blanket a bit more, still watching Katara.

The Waterbender shook her head, "No, I don't think you'd do that. I know you now…and I can't see you betraying us like in Ba Sing Se." She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, "I know that, when the time comes, you'll know what to do. You and Aang are both smart, you'll both find a way to defeat your father and your sister. We just have to keep working on our abilities and show what we're really made of." 

Zuko beamed at being considered 'smart'. "You really mean that? You think I'm smart?" Apparently it meant a lot to him. He kinda knew he was smart, but he always thought Katara didn't actually think he was that smart. _And... coming from her, it just.. Why does it mean so much coming from Katara? Of course I'm smart. Why am I beaming like a little kid! Snap out of it.._ He attempted to wipe the smile off of his face, but it didn't really work whatsoever.

Katara nodded, smiling as he beamed at her, "Honest, I really think you are." She leaned back on the pillow and looked up at the ceiling, "You got us out of the air ship, you defeated that pirate without even a scratch, and you've gotten us out of a few other sticky situations. You're pretty cool." 

The prince appeared even happier to hear she thought he was cool. ".. Thanks. I think you're pretty... cool." He wasn't really sure how to explain all of the things he felt about her, or why he was feeling any of those things. He felt so awkward. _I don't even know what to do. I should just go back to sleep, but I'm not tired. I'm just weak._

Katara blushed and grinned at his comment. She found herself changing to a sitting position and she faced the Fire Prince, no way she was going to lay down when they were conversing like this, "Hey, remember in Ba Sing Se where you used that fire whip? I'm wondering…if you could study moves from Waterbenders and use it in your abilities, would I be able to learn some sort of Firebending-style moves from you? It would be pretty neat." She tapped her chin in thought at the prospect.

"... Well..." Zuko tapped his chin in thought from under the covers. "I think... maybe... There are some similarities. But fire is based off of chi, my life force. Is water something like that too?" A drop of sweat annoyingly rolled into his eyelash and he wiped it away. He felt too cold to be sweating like that.

Katara tapped her chin in thought, "Hmm…I think waterbending is similar. Very similar. It's power is said to come from a Waterbender's chi. Which is why when I get so emotional my powers seem to get stronger, yet a bit more dangerous." She laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head. "I do have quite a temper sometimes, don't I?"

"I'm not one to talk. I have a worse temper than you do." Zuko rubbed his head, wiping away the sweat and massaging it. ".. my head hurts so bad... I think it's a migraine.. It would explain why I can't see straight..." He felt okay telling her. It was weird. He wanted to tell her a lot of things just to hear her voice and watch her reaction. She genuinely interested him. He hadn't realized how much he liked her before that kiss. Was it the kiss that made him like her? Or was he trying to ignore it until he kissed her?

Katara smirked, "Well that's true. As for your headache, I wish I could help with that. I'm not sure how well my healing powers would work on sicknesses. I never really tried it before." She looked at his expression. Something about it told her that things were going great between the two, despite his sickness. She felt enlightened by the thought, and the smile never faded from her face.

Zuko noticed she was smiling brightly and looked away, blushing. "Why are you smiling like that? Are you thinking of testing some healing powers on me..?" The thought of it interested him, making his heart beat quicker once more. _Stop doing that! Why are you so stupid Zuko! I can't help it. She smiles so pretty. I mean... no.. yes.. no... Stop! There is no yes or no here. It's just not PLAUSIBLE. Yes.. maybe... well..._

Katara felt her smile grow and she looked down shyly as he looked away, "M…maybe…if that was…okay with you." She felt her pulse quicken. Practicing healing Zuko? It was an interesting thought, and she'd be so close to him…

Zuko turned and looked at Katara with mild surprise. "Really? I... guess that would be alright." He trembled of his cold, but took himself off his warm place on the couch anyway and sat level with the waterbender on the floor.

Katara watched as he took a seat before her, and she slowly streamed some water out of the waterskin that hung loosely on her back. The liquid coated her hands and shone with a dim light that cast a gentle glow upon the faces of the two benders. The healer placed her right hand gently upon Zuko's forehead, and could feel where the tension was in his head. She slowly began to relax the chi points located near the area where he felt the pain. It was strange, but as she moved on to the next point, she began to feel as if she had been healing like this her entire life. Zuko was helping her learn faster, and she didn't know how.

_Swimming._ The boy relaxed his body, almost becoming limp. He felt his head clearing and it made him feel so relaxed. So unbound to the world. The vast ocean appeared in his mind, and Katara was there. Brown strands of hair floating in the wind, a soft and caring smile on her face. _Cute._ He snapped out of it, blushing and watching her. "My headache's starting to feel a little better.. but since this is my body's reaction to the invasion of a foreign body.. I believe it may only be temporary relief."

Katara saw his blush, and gave him a warm smile. At his comment, she sighed and slowly drew her hand back, "Well, if it bothers you again, just ask me and I'll do my best to help." She closed her eyes, and the grin never faded from her face. 

Zuko watched her. Even without the headache his head was still pounding. It was such an odd feeling. Like he was just swimming. The room still moved slowly around him. But the headache was the most painful part of his sickness besides his stomach. "It feels surreal.." _There are so many things I'm not thinking about that I could think about. Do I even want to think about them? What is she thinking about?_

Katara's brow lifted in a confused look, "Did I do something wrong? Or is it because of the sickness?" She gazed at his face as he looked at her. Those golden eyes…she found herself lost in them. She didn't see the troubled look that he held back in Ba Sing Se. She saw an inner peace instead, as if at this moment, he cast aside his worries. Was it because of her?

"My head doesn't hurt anymore.. but the rest of the symptoms... I think I might have a fever." He smiled gently to reassure her. "I feel a lot better without the headache though... You're really amazing." He looked away with a small blush.

Katara felt her face reddening again and her heart swelled at his comment, "Th…thanks. I'm glad I was…able to help a bit." She looked down at the ground out of shyness and a small silence fell between the two. She looked back up and gave a small awkward cough, "Zuko…there's…something I need to ask you."

He didn't look at her but chose to look at the floor shyly. ".. yes? I'm listening..." He fiddled with is fingers, trying to keep his cool. He wondered what she was planning on asking him.

The waterbender took in a deep breath and opened her mouth to speak. She had to mentally prod herself to get the words out, and her face reddened more as she said it, "Wh…wh…when we…you know…kissed…Was it…just on impulse or did you…really…" She couldn't find the final words to say. She just sat there, her heart pumping furiously as she felt her face warm up.

Zuko's golden eyes looked back into Katara's but only for a moment before turning away, somewhat pretending to be aloof. But it was obvious he was trying to hide a flustered blush. A part of him wished to answer honestly but another thought it would be easier just to shut her down and lie. But he was such a terrible liar so he stuck with honesty, hoping things would somehow work out.

"... I didn't ... realize... I.. had.. any sort of feelings.. like that until I kissed you.. but.. now I can't stop thinking about you. It's driving me insane. I don't know what to do.. But I guess it's driving me insane in a good way, if that... even made sense. But this is actually really bad.. I can't be with you.. but I..." He turned bright red, holding his mouth. When he decided to be honest, he didn't mean THAT honest. It all just slipped out, and now he just sounded pathetic. His face turned beet red.

Katara felt her heart lifting as he told her how he felt. But at the comment about him not being able to be with her, she felt her heart sink and she gave him a confused look, "Y…you can't be with me? Why not?" She knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it from him. She wanted deep in her heart to be able to work everything out. _He…he actually likes me! I can't believe it!_

"..." He decided to omit Mai, especially considering she wasn't actually a factor. He would have left Mai for Katara if it were possible. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He was so embarrassed from admitting his feelings and it left him completely vulnerable. "... I... think Sokka would not like it.. nor would Aang.. and.. also.. what about if I become Firelord...? I'd be expected to marry and continue the line.. my uncle especially wishes me to settle down as soon as I can and have children.. You're not even of marrying age yet are you.. well.. I guess that's not really the bigger deal.. It's all a bunch of.. complicated... politics.." He scratched the back of his head, his heart thumping so loudly he could have sworn it echoed.

Katara's eyes narrowed in a glare, "That's not fair! I mean, Sokka and Aang could deal with it, but the politics are ridiculous! As a Firelord, couldn't you change things? It shouldn't be a bad thing that we feel this way about each other." She clenched her fists, more angry than sad at the complication of things, "This is stupid!" She folded her arms over her chest and clenched her teeth. 

The prince watched her with wide eyes. He was still blushing furiously, debating the consequences of his admittance. "I'm a servant of my people.. It's not the other way around..." He wasn't sure how to explain it any better. "And.. to selfishly expect my people to understand my motives for becoming involved with a waterbender.. They want me to have children. They don't want me to be with someone I can't have legitimate heirs with..." Right after saying that, he winced, expecting to regret it wholly.

Katara fumed and kept her voice down to a dull roar in her outburst, "That's ridiculous! We can't be together because of some stupid custom! Your nation is starting to sound like the Northern Water Tribe, all rules and no freedom! Why can't there be changes made! Why would they force something like that upon their rulers!" He anger showed clearly. Small droplets of water were forming a ring around her. They twitched softly in the air, but made no threatening moves.

"... I'm sorry.. I don't think I should break the custom.. I can understand why they wish it.. I think.. sort of.. Well, I've just learned to accept it. I was born into this role. Everyone must play their part..." Zuko's headache was beginning to resurface, pulsing with every raced heart beat. He wasn't sure how to help her feel better or if he should.

Katara clenched her fist and bit her lip while jumbled thoughts ran through her mind. It wasn't fair…why did they have to be born in two completely different regions? Why did she have to be born a peasant while he was a prince? Fate was playing tricks on her, and she hated it. She wanted more than anything in the world to be with Zuko. But she felt hopes for them slowly slipping away like water slipping through cupped hands. "Your nations customs are stupid." She hissed.

Zuko narrowed his eyes angrily at her. "They aren't stupid. You don't understand. You were born not having to represent a whole nation. And it makes sense that they wouldn't want their leader having children with someone from another nation. I need to have children that my nation will accept. It's for their sake and for the sake of my nation. Also, how would you like it if some foreigner suddenly had power over you because they were loved by your ruler?"

Katara glared back, her face set to show her hurt, angry emotions. "Why would you think that I would have power over your people? I would treat them equally, no matter what. Why would that be so hard for them to figure out?" She wanted things to work, but she felt like she was in the middle of a losing battle. Zuko was just as stubborn as her, maybe even more so.

"It's not like that! You're not really thinking about this clearly. It's a rule for a reason. It's for protection of the nation. If it were only a 'guideline', a foolish firelord may some day bring the fall of our nation..." It was hard to tell, but it seemed as though he were hiding that it hurt him as well to be aware of these facts.

Katara felt her fighting spirit diminish. She was finding it harder and harder to find a persuasive argument against what he was saying. She couldn't change fate, not when it wasn't even her own nation that she was speaking out against. Her head began to hurt, not from sickness, but from stress. She wanted to fall into the Prince's arms so much…it pained her to remain sitting. But wouldn't that just make things worse? "I just wish things would go smoothly for once…it seems like that doesn't happen too frequently in my life though."

".. I'm sorry." He lowered his head and fed his hands into his hair while covering his face. His headache was again being unbearable and he felt hot. _I wish it were otherwise. But I shouldn't even tell you that, should I ._"I shouldn't have misled you. I let my emotions get carried away without even thinking clearly."

Katara shook her head, "No, no, Zuko. You haven't misled me. You showed me how you really felt, and I feel so much better, now that I know that you feel the same way." Without hesitation, she crawled closer and wrapped her arms around him, pulling her close to her while she rested her head upon his in a loving embrace. "Please, don't let our problems get in the way. We need to have faith."

"Faith in... us? I don't think... we'd work. A relationship like that is doomed to fail. I..." He hesitantly hugged back, worrying himself some more over what he was getting himself into. She wasn't taking no for an answer, and as good as he was at ordering others around, he was finding it hard to resist her. It was for the best though. "I don't want Aang to be angry with me..."

Katara closed her eyes, it was hard to hear him say those words, but she would never give up, "Aang? He knows I'm old enough to make my own decisions. I want to be free to feel what I want to feel, not how others want me to. And I know that we can make it through. Why would we be together now if fate didn't intend for us to stay that way?" She held him closer, wondering how much time had passed. She felt oblivious to the world when she talked with Zuko.

The prince remained silent in response to that. He was afraid, confused, and he really wanted the girl in his arms at that moment. He wasn't much of a boy to be crushing on anyone, but she somehow wiggled her way into his heart. _But my duty comes first._

"I didn't just want to go home when I was banished. I didn't just want my honor. I wanted my throne... I want to serve my people... It's bad enough I was banished... and then I turned against my own firelord, my own father. And now I wish them to accept me with some foreign girlfriend too? And it's not about you making your own decisions, it's that I know he likes you and it would hurt him... And not to mention your older brother is already... not exactly fond of me. If he found out I kissed you..." He let out a pained noise and let go, holding himself defensively while turning his body away from her. "This isn't a good idea.. It would destroy the small amount of trust I gained with them. I don't want to lose Aang as a friend, and I don't want Sokka to try and fight me."

Katara watched sadly as he broke away from her embrace, refusing to look at her. She was losing…she could feel her dreams, her wishes, all crashing down to a pitiful end as she fought to find something…_anything_…That would change Zuko's mind. More than anything in the world, she wanted to be with him, no matter what the cost. But his nation…his people…they were relying on him. And Aang and Sokka…She clenched her teeth and a tear rolled down her cheek. It wasn't right! Why couldn't she be with the one she loved! Why was their relationship forbidden to him and his people! She wanted to scream out, to show how she felt about the injustice of it all. But she remained silent, unable to defend herself.

The silence permeated the air, swallowing everything besides the summer night sounds. The prince felt a droplet of sweat take its time, slowly rolling down his cheek and then clinging to his jaw. He had trouble thinking about anything, and it made him feel a little guilty. He was at peace with himself and yet he knew it was only surface deep. On the inside he knew not how he felt, but it wasn't good. He was far too distracted by the physical pain and strain of being sick.

Hugging himself continued to dually serve as a barrier and also a comfort.

Katara shivered, holding her arms close to her as she closed her eyes, "So…this is it? You're just going to give up? I don't want to give up…I can't. I love you too much…" Her shoulders shook as she forced herself to keep from crying. She wished that any moment, he would take her in his arms and tell her everything would be okay. That he didn't lose faith in their relationship. But it was an empty wish. He didn't want to fight against his own customs. He probably was wondering why she didn't understand. She wanted to tell him everything she felt, but it wouldn't matter. Not the way he was acting. "Please…there has to be…something…"

_She's really upset over this. That's stupid. That's so stupid. Why can't she keep a level head about it?_ Zuko turned and watched her. It was different once he was looking at her. He felt a little bad for calling her feelings stupid. But he didn't understand why she had to be so upset. "... Don't cry. I'm not even worth that kind of effort."

"Don't say that!" Katara's voice cracked slightly. Part of her wanted to storm off and leave Zuko to his own thoughts, but the other forced her to stay and listen, despite how much it hurt. She looked into his eyes, seeking some hint of hope, some hint of him believing that there still was a chance. 

"Why do you like me so much? I'm not that great. You shouldn't be so upset over me." That was one of the most humble things the prince ever had said. But it was true. Other than being the firelord's son he wasn't sure how much he had to offer a girl. He was pretty sure Mai partially enjoyed the idea of him being a prince. But then again, a girl tried to go out with Lee, who wasn't a prince. It was all too confusing. There were so many layers of impossible that Katara was asking of him. His head pounded harder, threatening to cause his head to explode.

Katara kept her gaze on him, "You are great. You're the only one I'm comfortable around…I haven't had many conversations with the others such as the ones I've had with you. You're my support…my guide. I need you." She hugged her arms closer to herself, "I don't know how you can't see that, but I do. It's painful for me to be separated from you. You're a part of me, and I can't bear to think that we can't be together." 

"That's really stupid. You're that weak? You can't even bear to be without me? Pathetic." He watched her angrily. He felt really angry. "Don't you have more self respect than that?" He lowered his arms, using one of them to point at her accusingly. "It's not a good idea. It's not possible. It's not like you'd die without me. Stop trying to guilt trip me!"

Katara bristled. She felt rage well up inside of her, angry at him for what he was saying, and angry at herself for the way she was acting. Her emotions tumbled out of control, and the droplets of water appeared again, this time circling around her in a threatening motion, "I'm not weak! I'm just hurt and angry from everything you're telling me!" She let out a frustrated roar and stood up before storming out towards the door, "I need a break!"

"A break from what! This conversation is over!" Anger fed anger, and that was Zuko's largest flaws. He sort of knew it but kept willingly ignorant to it at that moment. The silence that followed behind the booming adolescent voice was more deafening. He stood up and stormed back into his and Aang's room, the whole time staggering as if on a boat during a storm. He had taken the blanket with him, wrapping it around his body tightly. Losing his balance, the graceful prince fell down at the entrance of the bedroom and began crawling like an angry caterpillar towards the bed.

As Katara's bare feet met the cool grass, she fell to her knees and cried out, unleashing all her frustration and anger in one loud howl. Tears streamed down her face, but no sobs threatened to wrack her body. She felt the cool air against her face, heard the nocturnal animals chittering about within the darkness around her. The Waterbender tried forgetting what occurred, tried to fight off the feeling of hopelessness that threatened to consume her, but it took all her strength. Her eyes narrowed in a glare towards the ground. The only question that rang through her mind was _Why?_

Zuko forced himself into the bed, shoving Aang aside in the process. He covered his entire body with the blanket from downstairs and slammed his head into the pillow. _That STUPID GIRL! She's so STUPID! What am I kidding? I don't like her at all! She's stupid! I'm stupid... No, she's a jerk. She expects me to just change my whole life for her. And she's so clingy. And I HATE THAT. She's so WEAK! Doesn't she even KNOW how to be on her own? And how can she say all that stuff she said? It makes no sense! How is she not close to the others? She knows them better than she knows me. And also, Until about a week ago, we were enemies. Idiot. What an idiot._ And as he iterated before, he was not tired. He was just feeling sick. And so he stayed awake, watching the room spin in circles. It made him nauseous.

Katara stood back up to her feet and walked out into the nearby woods, breathing heavily from her anger. That self-absorbed, selfish prince! If he didn't like her, WHY DID HE KISS HER BACK! He could've just rejected her right then and there! It would've prevented this sort of situation from happening! 

As she tried taking in cooling breaths, she felt the hate fill her, and it frightened her. She had never felt this way before. She didn't know what to do, or what to think. Her rage forced her to keep moving forward. She wanted to get as far away from _him _as possible.

He felt really really nauseous. The surge of torrid thoughts and emotions was escalating his distress. Why couldn't there be any bathrooms inside? Why? And if he was just downstairs, why couldn't he have felt nauseous then? He stood up, dragging his blanket with him. He stayed still to attempt and orient himself. The room was impossible to navigate as it was dark and moved so flippantly as though not bound by physics. He crashed into the dresser before rushing out. He hesitated going outside for a small moment, but his body urged he go on regardless.

He embarrassingly kneeled down in the dark of night, somewhere in the nearby woods. It was extremely embarrassing and very uncomfortable. He wasn't sure what was even in his stomach, but it really wanted to come out whatever it was.

Katara's feet carried her farther then she really knew. The tree branches clawed at her hair and clothes, but she angrily sliced them aside with sharpened water. She didn't know where she was, or where she was going, but she kept walking. Eventually she'd stop and turn back, but now was not the time. She felt the thin light of the moon against her face, giving her a little more energy. She felt careless to the world around her. If the whole forest started collapsing around her, she wouldn't lift a finger to help it. She was a complete wreck. She needed time and space.

After some time Zuko didn't really feel too much better than when he'd arrived in that spot. He lurched forward, but there was nothing to empty. His body was reaching for his bowels at this rate. "stop.. doing that.. there's nothing there..." After twenty minutes he managed to stop himself. Slowly the quotes from earlier that night were playing in his mind once more. _You're the only one I'm comfortable around…I haven't had many conversations with the others such as the ones I've had with you. You're my support…my guide. I need you._ He felt really bad for overreacting to her, but he was relieved she probably did not have feelings for him anymore. Who could love someone who was unlovable? And that is precisely what he relied on to bring things back to normal. Once he was sure he could stand again, he stood up and took unhurried and deliberate steps to keep his balance. He walked back towards the inn and sat down outside of it, holding his blanket in his arms. _Just a few more minutes. Katara probably went inside already anyway. I won't encounter her._

Katara was long lost now. She tried retracing her steps, trying to find the branches that she sliced apart, but she couldn't find anything that would lead her home. She wasn't scared or anything. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. But the others would be worried. She had some time to cool off, but it really didn't matter now that she couldn't go back and get some rest. The Waterbender looked around the forest, trying to see the sky through the thick trees. Only a few slivers of moonlight filtered through the leaves. Katara remembered Zuko and Aang often talking about meditating. She took a seat against a nearby tree and closed her eyes, taking in deep breaths. As she did so, a stream of water slithered out of her waterskin before it expanded and contracted with each breath. She felt her fears slowly ebb from her mind as she only concentrated on keeping her thoughts clear. She felt her shoulders relax. This wasn't so bad…She would catch up with the others later.

Zuko looked around at the forest curiously, beginning to doubt his previous assumption. Maybe Katara hadn't come back and was waiting for him to come apologize to her. Girls liked doing that sometimes. After a longer period the thought came across his mind more and more obsessively. He even heard his uncle in his head chastising him for being so cruel to her. "FINE! I'll go look for her!" He walked off, using his decent skills at tracking to find where she ran off to. It was really easy considering there were branches and bushes broken everywhere. On the way he stepped on a prickle bush and cursed, wishing he'd brought his boots. He almost kicked the stupid bush but thought better of it and moved on.

He finally saw her figure in the moonlight. She was meditating. He felt like a fool for even worrying about her, but he took so much effort in getting there. He didn't want it to be for nothing, but she in fact probably did not wish his presence.

Katara heard a muttered curse, and she slowly opened her eyes. She saw Zuko standing not too far and she stuttered, "Z…Zuko…" The water orb crashed down onto her lap and she blushed profusely. Why did he come? Did he want to make her feel bad again? Or did he really worry?

"I thought we've had enough with getting lost... walking far distances away from the group. Come on... Let's go back." Zuko nodded his head towards a direction, seemingly knowing where the group was and began walking back without waiting for her response.

Katara followed behind a fair distance in back of him, afraid to say anything that would set either of them off. They walked in silence, and she saw the tree limbs on the ground and sighed. She was really distraught, wasn't she? She had calmed down considerably after the meditation, but she wondered how long that would last. Just as long as she didn't converse with Zuko, she should be fine. 

Zuko pulled the blanket around his shoulders, keeping silent as well. It was as if a mutual understanding had come between the two that for the moment they'd be quiet. The moon was beginning to disappear once they made it back to the inn, and right at the entrance Zuko turned around and watched her. It was hard to tell how he was feeling. ".. I'm sorry", He spurted out. It was all he said.

Katara felt her heart beat faster. He was sorry? For what? "No, you have no reason to apologize. I was acting irrational and stupid. I should've never pursued the subject." She looked at his eyes, trying to find something within them, but she couldn't read anything within their golden depths. 

"I shouldn't have told you I liked you like that and then pulled your hopes out from under you. It wasn't very thoughtful of me." The older boy's eyebrow crunched worriedly. "I let my emotions get the best of me. And it's... scary thinking of someone relying on me for their own sound emotions and happiness. I have enough trouble finding my own."

Katara diverted her gaze, "No…don't worry about it. I'm sorry it came off that I needed you that badly. I wish I could help with your emotions. You're just so complicated." She gave him a weary smile and suddenly her eyes grew wide as realization struck her, "What are you doing? You're sick! You should be resting, not talking with me!" She grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the inn, "I'm such an idiot! I'd forgotten!" She smacked herself in the face out of irritation and gave a frustrated groan.

Zuko tried to stop her but ended up tripping on his feet in the process and just going along with it. "Katara... wait.. You're making my stomach turn..." He stopped and allowed himself to catch up with the spinning world, leaning on a wall for support. "I don't mean to be complicated.. It's just everything around me is really complicated... So you didn't mean that you can't be without me?"

Katara opened her mouth, hesitated, but then sighed, "I guess so. It would be hard…but I just may...get over it." She gave a nervous laugh and looked over towards Zuko's room, "You really need to get your rest. I don't want your sickness to get even worse." She gently took him by the wrist and pulled him forward, hoping he'd comply and get to bed.

"That's good..." He mumbled softly, something along the lines of _'I don't think I could get over you'_, but it was just barely audible. His skin was unpleasantly cold and clammy, and he was trembling slightly. "I'm not tired..."

Katara felt him tremble and she sighed, "Tired or not, you need to lie down and rest." She was about to walk into Zuko and Aang's room but, realizing he should rest alone, pulled him towards the couch instead. She forced him onto it with a gentle, but strong grasp and placed his blanket over him as well as she could, "Please Zuko, just try to close your eyes and regain your energy. I don't like seeing you sick."

Zuko limply stayed where he was placed and his eyes began to droop, despite his previous statement. He was pale and his face had droplets of sweat which glistened in the moonlight. "... you're fun when you're mad.. you make this cute face... I mean.. um... a... face.. it's not cute... I don't... mean it that way..." He mumbled nearly incoherently.

Katara blushed and grabbed a dry washcloth before she gently wiped the sweat from his brow. She felt concerned as she saw how pale he looked. But despite that, she found herself staring at him, unable to take her eyes off of his handsome face. She mentally cursed herself, why was it so hard to let go? She refused to. She wouldn't let go, but she wouldn't tell Zuko that. 

He wished he could somehow explore what it would be like to be with her. He'd had a dream about it earlier that day. He wished he knew how accurate it was. He was really happy with her, and once she actually had him she didn't act so clingy. That was about the extent of his dream. He liked the idea of her not being clingy. His eyes opened when he felt a cloth dab at his brow. "... the sweat is making me cold..."

Katara gave him a confused look, and sighed, "Is there a way I can help warm you up? Your blanket should've been enough." A brief memory of their time in the cave not too long ago flashed in her mind and blood rushed to her face. He wouldn't ask for that, not after what happened. But she could suggest it…then maybe he'd… "M..Maybewecouldsharebodywarmthagain?" She blurted the words before she could think and she covered her mouth, her cheeks shining red above her hands.

"... yeah.. it's just hugging... It's not bad... it's a friend thing... that.. friends do. and... well friends... yes... and siblings.. they hug... and it's completely normal.. because... it's just sharing body heat..." Zuko's eye was wide as he attempted to explain away the reasons there was nothing to worry about.

Katara felt her blush deepen as she leaned her upper body over the couch where he was lying and wrapped her arms around his own, feeling the coolness of his skin. She hugged him tighter, adjusting her strange position, but knowing full well that she wasn't going to be too bold and ask him to make room for her beside him. She closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart. She felt her own pulse match his in beat, and she felt her eyelids drooping. She was so comfortable with him…it was like they were meant for each other, yet they weren't.

His quiet voice remarked. "What are you doing..?" And made room for her, pulling her up beside him. It was a pretty decently sized couch, although modest in taste, and he couldn't understand why she'd stay on the floor. He held her close, his fingers twitching. His teeth were chattering quietly. "Why am I so cold..." He hated it. It was like, despite his bending ability he was constantly battling the cold.

Katara felt her heart beat quicken as he pulled her close and she wrapped her arms around him, hoping desperately that it would be enough, "I don't know…" She whispered, "I'm trying to help, I really am." She pressed her forehead against his shoulder and closed her eyes, willing the warmth from her to go to him. She felt her chi flowing to her arms and felt the warmth leave her to enter the shivering prince. She continued to do this, hoping it would make a difference.

Zuko's lips turned thoughtfully. "You don't have to go that far. You need that chi. It's your energy. I'm happy with having your warmth.. I'm already starting to feel a little warmer..." He also was feeling guiltily happy about hugging her. It made no sense to him, but he was done debating with himself for the night. After a few moments his teeth stopped chattering and the shaking wasn't as prevalent as before. His chest was a lot hotter than his arms, and his face was beginning to flush. Probably a little hot in the face as well. "... you're feeling a lot better... right?"

"No, Zuko, it's fine." Katara whispered with a slight smile _Besides, you're worth it_. She felt him warming up, and she ceased using her chi. She felt a bit lightheaded, but she was comforted by the change in temperature. At Zuko's question, she gave a reassuring nod and smiled, "Yeah, I'm just fine. I'm feeling much better."

"I felt bad for making you sick..." the prince murmured quietly. "... I just need some rest... and I'll be better tomorrow morning.." He especially felt assured of that because of Katara. Even though she made him step in prickles. But that was only fair because he kept being mean to her. He smiled and let out a soft chuckle. It was funny in hindsight. Or maybe it was funny because he was feverish?

Katara shook her head, "No, don't worry about it. I got over it quickly." She smiled and hugged him closer, feeling the warmth he began to give off. All the worries she felt from before completely faded from her mind as she hugged Zuko. Maybe there was still a chance…maybe. She heard Zuko chuckle and she looked up at his face with a small smile. It was a nice sound to hear coming from him, after what had happened. She buried her face in his shirt and closed her eyes, feeling the effects of her emotional day begin to take their toll on her. Within moments, she was breathing softly, fast asleep in Zuko's arms once again. No nightmares were going to plague her mind tonight, not while she had her loved one close to her.

Zuko watched her as she slept. He knew what everyone would suspect if they were seen together like this. He decided to take a light nap and wake himself up in a little while to put her back to sleep with her brother. He was such a heavy sleeper he'd never even notice. And so he closed his eyes... just for a moment... and when he opened them again it was dawn. His eye widened. _It's dawn already?_ He got up, carefully sliding Katara properly onto the couch. He then tucked her in quickly before sneaking back to his room. He peeked in to see if Aang was still asleep, since Aang usually woke up around dawn.

Aang gave a small groan as the sunlight peeked through the window of his room. He noticed that Zuko was awake and he gave him a confused look, "Zuko? Whatcha doin up?" He sat up and stretched his arms into the air, feeling the stiff bones within them give small satisfying cracks. He saw a pale shade to Zuko's face and he frowned, "You don't look so well. Did you get enough rest?"

The prince frowned. "I.. had a rough night..." He walked awkwardly to the bed and laid down. _That was a stupid thing to say. Now he's going to start asking questions.._

Aang sat cross-legged on the bed and gave Zuko an inquiring look, "Rough night? How so?" Curiousity nagged at him. Zuko fell asleep before himself, apparently he must not have slept all the way through the night.

The older boy curled up into the blankets with a shiver. His teeth began chattering against his will once more without Katara there to keep him warm. "... It's nothing to worry about", the prince said between clenched teeth.

Aang frowned, "Are you sure? You don't look too good…Sure you don't want to talk about it?" He was really curious now. "Were you up all night?"

"... not... ALL night... some of the night..." _Here we go with the questions..._ The prince still clenched his teeth to prevent them from chattering. He was so cold, so unbearably cold.

Aang looked at him with concern, "Why were you up? Are you feeling well? What were you doing? Do you need help?" The questions tumbled out of his mouth as youthful curiousity took hold of him. "If you're so ill, why didn't you sleep?"

The prince sat up and pointed out the door. "I'M NOT SICK! GET OUT OF MY ROOM AND JUST LET ME SL-" his demand was cut short by a badly placed cough. It was a throaty cough, but it still sounded pretty bad. "Stupid throat." His teeth chattered again before he snapped his jaw shut once more.

Aang jumped and gave Zuko a sad, puppy-dog look before he picked up his staff and left the room without another word. He walked out to the den, and stopped in his tracks when he saw Katara lying on the couch. "H…how did she get there?" His eyebrow lifted in a confused look and he grasped his staff tighter, "Okay, I'm going to have to ask them later. I guess I should let them sleep for a bit…" He went outside to tend to Appa, casting a hesitant glance back at the inn. Something was going on…

"Stupid puppy dog face..." Zuko laid down in the covers and curled up. What felt like moments later he was thrown out of bed rather violently. "What the- OOF!" he slammed into the floor and looked up at an angry Sokka. "WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM!" Sokka pointed his sword at him. "I'm telling you right now, you STAY AWAY FROM MY SISTER!" Zuko's eyes widened in shock. "What? I'm away from her! Stop pointing that thing at me!" Zuko turned the sword away from him and brushed himself off as he got up. "Don't play dumb with me! I saw you with her this morning!" Sokka poked the sword at Zuko's belly threateningly. "And don't think just because you're teaching Aang you'll be protected by him." Zuko again moved the sword away, "I'm not afraid of you, for one. And secondly, I didn't TOUCH your sister. Even if I did it's none of your business." Sokka threw the sword away and tackled Zuko, pinning him against the wall with a loud crashing noise. A picture came off it's place on the wall and smashed against the hallway floor.

Katara shot up from the couch with a start as she heard the crash. As quick as a flash, she ran towards the sound, noticing it was from Zuko's room. _What the heck is going on?_

Her question was answered when she saw Sokka pinning Zuko against the wall, holding his arm back as if he were going for a punch. Katara cried out in shock and shot her arm forward, sending a stream of liquid from the waterskin at her side towards her brother's arm. The stream wrapped around his wrist and she held it back, "Sokka! What's gotten into you!" She yelled, her eyes narrowing in an angry glare.

Zuko struggled weakly to get out of Sokka's grip, but he was failing miserably. "I didn't.." Sokka looked over at Katara with a glare. "I'm protecting you. This is for your own good little sister." He shoved Zuko one more time before letting him fall to the floor and into the night stand. "Because I'd rather fight Katara any day... Sokka's so scary.." The prince glared up at him, indignant. Toph came in the room too. "Sokka have you LOST IT? It's not like Katara can't protect herself."

Katara walked up to Zuko and kneeled beside him, offering her hand, "Sokka, leave him alone! He hasn't done anything wrong!" She kept her gaze on Sokka, making sure he made no move as she offered to help Zuko up, "You don't need to protect me! There's nothing to protect me against, and like Toph said, I can TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!"

Sokka looked from one girl to the next with a frown and then Zuko with a glare. "... Jeez, what's wrong with you Katara? You look like you didn't even sleep-..." Sokka's eye twitched a little. "ZUKO WHAT WERE YOU DOING WITH HER ALL NIGHT! I'LL KILL YOU!" He punched Zuko right in the face, causing some more slamming and furniture damage. The night stand just collapsed as Zuko fell into it for the second time. "That's it!" Zuko pounced right back on Sokka and the two began brawling on the floor, rolling around like a couple of numbskull idiots.

Katara bristled as the two fought. "THAT's ENOUGH!" A nearby vase of water cracked and burst, giving her enough water to throw between the two. She threw her arms outwards, causing the water to explode in two waves, one crashing into Zuko, and the other into Sokka, throwing the two apart. The frustrated waterbender then stood between the two and gave each of them a threatening glare that told them if they advanced towards each other, she would use any means necessary to get them to stop. 

"Sokka!" She yelled, addressing her brother, "Nothing happened between us two! Okay! He was sick and cold, so I told him I'd share body warmth. It was my fault, not his! I suggested it! You have no reason to think we were doing anything inappropriate! You know me, and you know that I'd never do anything like that!"

Sokka and Zuko looked from Katara to eachother and glared excessively. "He's sick? You want me to believe that! He was probably lying so you'd take care of him!" Zuko stood up aggressively to challenge that notion. "I never TOLD HER I'M SICK! And I don't need to be taken care of!" Sokka also got up and then pointed accusingly at Zuko. "You're manipulating her! Just like your sister!" The water began steaming off of Zuko. "I'M NOTHING LIKE MY SISTER!"

Katara clenched her fists, "LOOK at him, Sokka! He appears plenty sick to me! And I'm not easily manipulatable! I wouldn't let him do that to me! I'm telling the TRUTH when I said that I was the one who suggested that!" She stood protectively in front of Zuko, "Stop being so OVERPROTECTIVE! I can be by Zuko if I so CHOOSE to be!" 

"I'm not THAT SICK!" Zuko hated the idea of being called 'plenty sick'. "And I'm not going after your sister! If by the end of the summer I'm Firelord, I need to get married and continue the line and she's not even of marrying age! And she's watertribe, which won't be approved of! Not that I care personally, she's a good kid! But I'm not going to date her! That's my point!" Sokka's eyes widened as he realized something. "YOU'RE IN THIS TO OVERTHROW YOUR FATHER AND BECOME FIRELORD!" Toph rolled her eyes. "Duh! Of course he is! That's the best path towards peace! He's going to make a good Firelord." Sokka's accusing finger deflated. "Oh... right."

Katara felt her heart sink to the bottom of her stomach as Zuko's words met her ear. She looked at him, and then back at Sokka, and then at the ground. Her voice came out low, but she kept it at a loud enough volume, "So there, Sokka…you have nothing to worry about." Without another word, she walked out of the room and murmured, "I'm going to get my things packed."

Toph dragged Sokka out of the room as well. "I think you should go get packed too. After breakfast we're leaving, aren't we? I'm getting packed up too." Sokka reluctantly followed Katara to their room and silently began packing his things. Toph began packing hers as well, but she never really unpacked much to begin with.

Zuko was left alone in the room once more. He wiped his nose and spotted a little blood. ".. jerk..." He was too angry to feel sleepy and sore from being shoved into the night-stand. It was broken, and someone was going to have to pay for that. The group was probably going to expect him to do that. Instead of packing he laid back down and tried to become sleepy once more.

Katara was packed up and left the room without saying a word. Appa landed in a clearing outside of the inn, a tight squeeze, but he managed. Aang leapt down from his head and looked at Katara, "We're packing up?" As she remained unresponsive while throwing her things onto Appa's saddle, Aang gave her a worried look and grabbed onto her shoulder as she walked passed, "Katara, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, Aang. Don't worry about it." She gave him a weak smile and motioned inside, "You go get your things packed, I'll take care of Appa."

The Avatar frowned, but gave her a small nod before going into the inn. He walked into his room, saw Zuko with a bloody nose, and stopped in his tracks, "Zuko! What did I miss?" He blinked in surprise.

Zuko continued to wipe his nose as he packed, having given up on resting. "It's nothing..." The broken piece of furniture said otherwise, but he just hoped Aang wouldn't pry. Toph put her stuff on Appa's back and then walked back inside, sitting at the table in anticipation of some breakfast. She was sure everyone would work something out. And she wondered why they wouldn't just settle on a plan already. They kept saying they had, but then the plans only partially ever were gone through.

Aang frowned, but let the subject drop…for now. He packed up the few belongings he brought with him and slung the pack over his shoulder. "Are we all set? I'm going to set my things down. You should go on out and unload on Appa as well. We should be leaving soon, after we eat breakfast of course." He gave Zuko a warm smile and walked outside. He stopped in the doorway when he saw Katara gently petting Appa's fur, a distracted look on her face. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder, "Come on in, we have to eat, and I'm sure some company will do you well."

Katara gave a small nod, not looking directly at him, and turned away before silently gliding towards the inn. The Airbender sighed and threw his things up on the flying bison's saddle, "We'll be back, Appa. Then we can take off again."

The bison gave a satisfied roar and lay his large body down on the ground to rest for a bit before the long flight ahead of them.

Zuko sat at the table on the opposite end of Sokka, the two avoiding each other's eye contact. The breakfast was finished being set and everyone began to eat except for Zuko, who just picked at his food once more. Toph gave a satisfied grunt with the taste. "It's so good..."

Katara ate slowly, occasionally her gaze lifted from the food to look at Zuko or Sokka, but she didn't say a word. Her brother's overprotectiveness was really getting irritating. So what if she and Zuko were together? It was her choice, she should be able to have the freedom to be by whoever she wanted. What if it was Aang she was laying next to? Would Sokka feel the same way, or be lenient because he knew the kid longer? Without thinking, Katara stabbed her fork a bit too roughly onto the plate and it chipped off a small piece that landed right outside the edges of the platter. Her face turned red from embarrassment.

Sokka watched Katara in all seriousness. "You're not supposed to eat the plate." Laughter ensued, except for Toph, who didn't understand the point of the joke. "What? What just happened? Who's eating a plate?" Sokka smiled at Toph as if she could see it. "Oh, sorry. It's kind of one of those things you'd have to see.." Toph pouted. "I don't get it. Stupid seeing." Zuko looked away. "It's okay. It wasn't that funny. You're not missing much." He ate a little bit of the rice that came with the morning meal but didn't touch anything else. He clearly appeared out of it as he moved the plate aside and laid his head on the table. Usually well mannered, it was a bit unusual for him.

Katara chuckled a little at Sokka's comment and Toph's reaction. She forgot her worries for a brief second, but when she saw Zuko lay his head back down, her worries came back and she stood up.

"Zuko." She walked by his side and gently grabbed his arm, "Come on, you need to rest. You can lay next to Appa. If you're head's hurting again, I can help." She had her back turned to Sokka, not wanting to deal with his overprotectiveness.

Aang frowned, "So he _is_ sick? Why doesn't anyone tell me anything anymore?" 

Zuko forced his head back up and took his arm back. He began eating again, though it was barely and slowly. "No, I'm just tired Aang." Sokka and Zuko glared at each other for a brief moment, but then the normal breakfast continued. "Katara, why don't you sit down and finish your breakfast so we can go?" Sokka picked at the last bites on his plate.

The Waterbender sighed and went back to her seat to finish her meal. The innkeeper came out, beaming brightly, "It's so nice to have pleasant customers such as yourselves. I hope we meet again. Come back anytime." 

Aang smiled, "We'll see what we can do, but we're pretty busy most of the time. You know, Avatar stuff." He chuckled and stood up, seeing that everyone was done eating, well, Zuko still had quite a bit on his plate, but he wasn't eating any faster "Come on, guys. Let's get going!"

Zuko pulled out his wallet and left several firenation gold pieces on the table. "Sorry for any inconveniences." He got up without finishing his food and left for Appa ahead of the group. He wasn't rushing, but he seemed more than ready to go. Sokka slid Zuko's plate over to himself and began eating from it like a messy grubby pig. Toph walked off ahead right behind Zuko. "So we've really decided on a plan this time, right? We had two completely different plans the group has approved of but.. I don't know.. I kinda think we should stick with freeing the prisoners plan before trying to find some crazy white lotus people."

"No inconvienience at all." The woman said as she pocketed the coins, "Thank you for your stay. Have a safe travel." The pleasant smile never left from her face as she went into the kitchen to clean up.

Aang and Katara waited for Sokka to finish before they went outside to get started on their next journey. They saw Toph and Zuko conversing and as Katara climbed onto the saddle to make sure their things were in no danger of flying off during takeoff, Aang went to them.

"What are you guys talking about?" he asked, wanting to know what their next plan of action was.

"I don't think it's a good idea to go around searching for the white lotus people when we should be trying to free the people we left behind. That's top priority. But the only thing stopping us is we don't know where they're being held." Toph mounted Appa and then Zuko did. ".. oh.. That's not too hard to figure out. If they were captured at the capital, and they're war criminals.. There's only one place I'd check out. The Boiling Rock..." He thought everyone agreed it was too dangerous, but oh well. His original idea was really selfish anyway, so he wasn't going to support it if the gaang had other plans. Sokka climbed up onto Appa and put in his two cents. "Either way we're being drawn back to the Firenation, so let's go. We're still going the original route, just a different destination. Though that alone is going to take us a while since we ended up looping around. But if we fly nonstop from our last destination to gather supplies, we'll make it to the firenation by the end of this week."

"Sounds good to me." Aang said as he leapt up on top of Appa's head, "So we're just following your original directions? I think I can do that." He grabbed the reins and looked back, seeing that everyone else was on, "Alright, Appa, Yip yip!"

The bison gave a loud roar and, throwing his tail down towards the ground, began to soar towards the cloudless sky. Aang steered him in the direction of their first destination, the abbey. Memories came to him of Zuko chasing after them, using Katara's necklace to sniff them out with the bounty hunter at his side. It was so long ago…As he looked back at the prince, he wondered how hard it must've been for him to change from that stubborn, hard-headed banished prince to the person he was today. Yes, he was still stubborn, but he was on their side now.

Zuko grabbed the edge of the bison's saddle as he always did, although with a bit more desire than usual. He stared out at the sky, glaring at the general direction they were headed. If his memory served him right, the next stop was the Abbey. Those nuns would see him and immediately hate him.

Sokka sat on the opposite end of Zuko, occasionally looking over at him with a pouting glare. Toph began her daily nosepicking ritual, oblivious.

Katara was silent, but occasionally she stole a glance at Zuko, watching as the wind blew through his dark, unruly hair. A part of her mind was going _No! Don't look at him! Don't think about him! It's only going to tear your heart apart._ But the other part was going _Oh gosh…he's so handsome...And so cool. I should talk to him, maybe show him that I'm determined about our relationship? Ugh…I can't help it…I love him so much._

Of course, it was the latter part of her mind that won out. She caught herself sighing and a small smile played across her lips.

Zuko lowered his head, seeming steeped in thought about something or other. Whatever it was concerned him greatly, causing him to do those little things he tended to do while he was worried.. Such as keeping his arms close to his chest.

Sokka took note that Katara was staring at Zuko and decided he'd distract her. "Hey Katara..." He gave her those puppy eyes he knew she couldn't resist. "I'm sorry.. Are you still mad at me...?" He spoke really softly, apparently really sorry.

Katara gave a start at Sokka's voice and she turned her head quicker than what was necessary, a tinge of red appearing on her cheeks, "N...No, of course I'm not. It's alright." She looked back at Zuko, it was like her eyes were constantly being drawn towards him, "You should apologize to Zuko, though, he's the one you hurt."

Sokka's sweet face turned into a disbelieving scowl. "I DON'T WANT TO APOLOGIZE TO HIM! Come on Katara! I'm trying my best to be nice about this, but I'm so sick of the way you ogle him! I can't stand it! He's NOT interested in you!" Toph's mouth gaped as she overheard what Sokka was saying and her hand met her face in a loud smack. There goes the peace of the group.

Zuko frowned at Sokka. This wasn't going to end well.

Katara glared angrily at Sokka and leapt to her feet, "So what! I can STILL like him! And I don't need YOU telling me what I can and can't do with MY life! Like it or NOT, he's in our GROUP now, and you need to get along with him!" She clenched her fists angrily, her gaze never leaving Sokka's face.

Aang clenched his teeth. Katara's crushing on Zuko was beginning to make him sick. Did she ever consider his feelings? He glared over at Zuko. "Yeah, why is it that you're constantly hanging around him! You act as though I don't even exist anymore!" He looked between the two, an angry and hurt expression on his face.

Katara felt her heart sink and she looked over at Aang. She hardly ever saw that look on his face. It frightened her slightly, "Th…that's not true!"

Zuko glared at the clouds, trying to ignore how they were all arguing over him. He hugged himself protectively, becoming more and more angry.

Sokka pointed accusingly at Zuko. "Everything was fine before you showed up! It's like you're trying to tear us apart from the inside! My sister's smarter than that! She'll catch on to your true nature sooner or later!" Zuko turned around and opened up his arms for emphasis. "THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE SENSE! WHY WOULD I DO THAT!" Sokka seemed confused at his own statement. "I- I uh don't know! But you're up to no good! And if you're not doing it on purpose then it's even sadder!"

Aang pointed at Zuko, "Why do you have to take Katara away from me! I've trusted you as my Firebending master, and now look what's happening!"

Katara stood between Zuko and Aang, "That's enough! He didn't do any of this, this is all my doing!" She growled in frustration, "If anyone's tearing up the group, it's me. I never meant for this to happen!"

Zuko contemplated jumping off of Appa for just one second and then realized it was a completely idiotic thing to do. He then forced himself to look Aang in the eye, guilt apparent on his face. "... I'm sorry Aang." He wasn't sure how he'd explain why he was sorry. He hoped the conversation wouldn't be dragged any further than that. But Sokka decided to take it a step further. "SORRY FOR WHAT!"

Aang looked away angrily, waiting for Zuko's answer to Sokka's question. Sorry for taking Katara away? Sorry for breaking up the team? He clutched tightly to the reins, his shoulders shaking. If his Seventh Chakra wasn't locked, he would probably be in the Avatar state by now. But he did his best to keep his cool.

Katara looked at Zuko, "You shouldn't be sorry for anything! I got you into this mess, I'm the one to blame!"

"Stop throwing yourself into the fray! I'm the one who-" ... His cheeks turned red and the prince forced himself to stop talking. Sokka's eyes bulged out in his anger. "YOU DID WHAT WITH HER!" Zuko turned his back to Sokka, trying to ignore it. Make it all just go away. "Don't IGNORE ME! Tell me! What were you and Katara doing last night!"

Aang turned his head back and held his upper body up over the saddle, "Yeah Zuko, WHAT DID YOU DO!" His shoulders shook. The last time he felt this angry was when Appa was taken away from him. "If you did ANYTHING to HARM HER…"

"Aang! Calm down!" Katara yelled. "Nothing happened! He was sick and cold and I just rested next to him to share body heat! That's IT! Nothing more than that HAPPENED!"

Zuko's silence was more booming than anything he could say. It seemed his feelings were really hurt. He just looked away from everyone after taking one last hurt and upset glance at Aang. He created his own bubble which he could not hear anything anymore. He felt so vulnerable and his head was spinning once more.

Toph frowned in blatant disapproval of the way the whole gang was acting. She didn't even want a part of this. But she couldn't do much anyway. She was so very blind without any Earth, and it made things more difficult than she wanted to bother with.

"If he's so sick then why isn't he ACTING SICK?" If looks could kill, Sokka would have killed Zuko at least a couple times already.

Katara noticed Zuko's state, and her heart plummeted. This wasn't good…Zuko was taking these comments in, and it was affecting him badly. The Waterbender quickly went up to him and wrapped her arms around him, not caring what the other ones thought. She closed her eyes, burying her head in his shoulder, "Zuko, forget them. If they don't care for what we truly feel, I don't know how they're my friends." She cast a hurt look towards Aang, who looked down guiltily. She turned her attention back to the Fire Prince, "I'm sorry…but you know I love you, and it's hard for me to think otherwise."

The feverish prince pushed Katara away and learned against the edge of Appa's saddle in complete defiance of everyone. He wasn't really sure what to do. He just wanted to be left alone. If one didn't know better it almost seemed as though he were crying a bit as he buried his head in his leaning arms.

Sokka just wanted to stab Zuko. He could just murder him. He was rip roaring mad, and to have Katara defending him only to be rejected on top of that. What a jerk. "How can you just REJECT her like that! If she's jumping out on a limb why are you just letting her fall! See? He's not even worth it Katara! How can you disown us after all we've been through together, only to go to him! He put us through half of what we went through together!"

Aang bit back any rude comments he wished to make towards Zuko. Sokka had already spoken what was on his mind, and he didn't want to make things worse. The firebender was on thin ice with the Avatar, and any minute he was going to break through.

Katara looked at Sokka with utmost seriousness, "He's worth everything to me. He had saved me…so many times…when I almost lost hope." She looked down at the ground, "He's a part of me…ever since he rescued me from myself…and I know he's changed." She looked at Zuko, "He may act this way now, but I know he's capable of great love. He proved it to me when he spoke about his country."

Zuko shook his head. "No, stop it. I'm so tired of this. You don't mean anything to me Katara. Not like that. You're like a little sister to me. I have Mai.. and I'm probably going to marry her." He was speaking so low and monotone it almost sounded as though he'd lost his soul. ".. I was just trying to do what's right when I saved you.. but... I can't seem to do anything right now can I..." His voice drifted into a whisper as he finished his sentence. Zuko lifted his head and approached the avatar in all seriousness. "Aang I can understand if you want me to leave the group", he choked out.

Sokka sobered up quickly, but he waited for Aang, watching him sadly.

Katara stared blankly at Zuko. She heard his words, and wished that none of them had come out of his mouth. Her heart stopped for a second, and a millisecond after, a sharp pain shot through her chest and she cried out, clutching at the pained area as she fell to the floor of the saddle. It was a sensation she never felt before, and it left her cold and numb as she stared with fear-filled eyes ahead. However, the fear was immediately replaced with rage and hatred, and she slowly began to make it to her feet. 

"NO! That's NOT TRUE! You can't possibly marry that EMOTIONLESS, SPOILED, CARELESS girl after WHAT she did! She WATCHED and did NOTHING as I rescued you from the sea! If she REALLY CARED, she would've JOINED US and FOUGHT THE FIRE NATION!" Water droplets formed around her and a ring of liquid began circling and twisting around her like an enraged serpent.

Aang gasped and stood up, ready to interfere. He had never seen Katara this hurt before. It sent tremors through his body, and he was the Avatar…The one destined to defeat the Fire Lord! But right now, he'd take on the Fire Lord with only his Airbending powers rather than to try and stop Katara.

Zuko watched Katara's reaction with widening eyes. _I can't do anything right. I can't do anything right. I mess up everything..._ Her words hurt even more than her reaction and he let out a small tear. He refused to acknowledge the tear, ignoring it as it rolled down his cheek. He wasn't sure what to say, what he could even choke out at that point. He just looked down, feeling the tear hit his hand rebelliously as it refused to be silenced.

Sokka frowned, his face softening into a more concerned gaze. It was becoming apparent that not only Zuko was to blame here. And not only Katara was hurting. The prince let out a tear, and it exposed a humanity he never even thought him capable of. He felt sorry for the guy. "Katara, calm down!"

Toph had crawled up to Katara and began pulling on her to stop her from being so violent. It took her some patting to reach Katara's arms, but once she had them she wouldn't let go.

Katara was about to let the attack fly, when she saw the tear rolling down Zuko's face. Her hand stopped as it was about to rise to strike, and she felt someone's hands pulling her back. She wasn't paying attention to anything but the tear that landed on his hand. The water around her completely evaporatated. She wanted to run into his arms, to tell him everything was going to be okay, to say that she was sorry, but she couldn't make a move. The tear kept her rooted to the spot in shock and amazement. 

"K…Katara? Zuko?" Aang's worried voice broke through the painful silence. Neither of them looked responsive. He had Appa slow down and he cast frightened glances between the two.

Sokka took over flying Appa for Aang, shooing him towards the distraught group members. "Aang, you're the 'mediation guy'. I'm completely lost so you start making with the avatar magic. I'll just steer." He hurried Appa along once more. They had a schedule to keep.

Zuko wiped away at the tear viciously, as if it had betrayed him and crawled away from everyone else. He felt more tears threatening to escape. He forced himself to stop. Especially considering it was in front of everyone. _Except Toph._ But his sarcasm didn't really cheer him up. He actually liked Katara a lot, and he in fact liked Mai too. Katara's words stung very badly. This had to be done though. He and Katara wouldn't work out, and none of this fighting was worth the trouble of even trying. His stomach turned violently and he clutched it, leaning his head over Appa's saddle for just a moment before realizing it'd be better not to throw up on Appa. So he hunched over inside of the saddle, holding his stomach and his mouth. What good timing for his stomach to act up. He never felt more grateful and at the same time embarrassed in his life.

Toph let go of Katara, sensing that she had effectively calmed down. She clung to the nearest wall and continued to attempt to let things work themselves out for the most part. Moving around while on Appa made her airsick so she tried not to do it so much.

Aang staggered forward. Through all his wisdom as an "100 year old man", he knew nothing about love, when it starts, and when it breaks. He went to Katara, placing his tattooed hand on her shoulder, and murmured, "You need to talk with him. Work something out. This is one thing that I can not interfere with." Part of the reason was because it was something they needed to do, another was for a selfish reason, "Please, just talk it out. I can't bear to see either of you two like this."

Katara's gaze went down to the saddle and she closed her eyes before taking a shaky breath, "What is there to talk about? He already said he didn't love me. What was I thinking, hoping there was a slight chance that him and I could be together? I was stupid and careless." Tears began to make their way down her face, and she made no move to wipe them aside.

The Avatar shook his head, "No, you followed your heart, and that's an admirable trait. Trust me, just talk things over with Prince Zuko." He gave her shoulder a few comforting pats and went to sit by Toph to watch how things pan out. Katara gave him a hesitant look before going over by Zuko. At seeing his position on the ground, she frowned and placed her hand upon his shoulder, "Zuko…" She murmured, her voice barely a whisper.

Miraculously Zuko managed to speak past how unwell he was feeling at the moment. ".. not.. feeling right..." As much as he'd normally push Katara away after the hurtful things she said to him, he had other priorities. He was going to try and force himself to feel better and then he was going to train Aang. He idiotically wasted all of the day before being rescued, then sleeping, but today he was determined to teach him something. He had to prove his worth to the team, to show it was his destiny to be there and to help. Not his destiny to be distracted by frivolous love.

The movement of Appa he could feel rocking them about just slightly, the air hitting his face, all mixed with his dizzy sensation were creating a very torturously upset stomach. He lurched forward, swallowing several times. "Not happy.. I'm not happy... with this.. We have to land." Zuko regretted eating anything. It was stupid of him.

Toph smacked Aang's shoulder, or at least that's what she was attempting to aim for. "What are you doing Aang? You're usually much better at mediating than that. Where'd your spine go? I really think now's not the time to make them talk to each other anyway. She was just going to kill him a few seconds ago." She stopped to listen in on the two. It was a bit annoying over the wind to hear them. Zuko sounded like he didn't feel well. Katara sounded hesitant, which was not like her. But surely she'd snap out of this weak annoying Katara and become that amazing person Toph knew sooner or later. Yes, she didn't mind Katara and Zuko being a couple but the way Katara was going about it was all wrong. _Doesn't Katara realize by now that this is one of those relationships that won't really work out? The two personalities go together just fine but the two love personalities are clashing it seems. That coupled with the odds against a relationship like this lasting at all makes for a bumpy ride._

Aang rubbed the back of his head nervously, "I'm rusty…I'm not normally used to this kind of situation." He looked over at Sokka, "Sokka! Zuko's not feeling well, you have to land Appa as soon as possible!" His voice was filled with concern. He was jealous, but right now he couldn't see how he could remain mad at the Firebender, not when he looked this ill. 

Katara set her brow in a determined look as she heard Zuko murmuring about being sick. This wasn't good. He had barely any rest and the emotional toll on him must've made him feel even worse. As the Waterbender looked at Toph, she realized she had to stop thinking about herself and start thinking about the ones who needed her. And right now, complaining and crying wasn't going to do anything to help.

"Sokka, land us somewhere quiet for the time being. I'm going to look for some herbs for a healing tea that should help his sickness a bit. When we land, Aang, I need you to make a fire. Toph, if you can, please set up a tent for Zuko, mine will work fine. If he doesn't rest properly, he won't get well by the end of the day."

Zuko tried to object but he couldn't speak without his body threatening to hurl. He hadn't felt this sick during travel since he was fourteen. He remembered it so vividly, forcing himself to eat his favorite lunch one day before continuing his training, which he'd been doing terribly at. He was finally working on perfecting his leg moves today, and the sea was more rocky than usual. The weather was unusually cool for the region they were in, and he enjoyed it because he always got hot under all that armor. After not taking some hints from his body to stop during training he ended up grabbing the edge of the boat and hurling overboard. The crew laughed behind his back about that for several weeks, but since he wasn't Azula none of them were killed for it.

Toph smiled a bit at Katara's kick-a behavior. _Now that was more like it._ "YEAH! Let's all work together! ... Wow I can't believe I just said that... It.. was so corny..."

Sokka landed Appa, grumbling the whole time about schedules and having to work out a way to make up for this. "Can't we just have the nuns help him get better? We're on a tight schedule here." He began grudgingly helping Toph set up Katara's tent but left everything else packed.

After Appa landed, Katara looked at Aang and motioned to Zuko, "If you can, help him up and get him to the tent. I'll be back in a few minutes once I get this going." She grabbed a teapot from within the pack that had their cooking utensils and slid down off of Appa's tail. Without another word, she rushed off to the woods, using this as a distraction from the events that occurred. She had to keep a positive attitude. She had to help out. She wasn't going to be distracted from what was really important. 

Aang looked at Zuko and gave an irritated sigh before supporting him on his shoulder. He really looked out of it. He wondered if he noticed that he was slowly being lowered from Appa's back. As the Avatar carried his Firebending Master to the tent, he helped him inside and gently set him down on Katara's sleeping bag. 

The prince didn't seem too happy about being moved around, even though it was gentle. Once he was laid down he sat back up and remained in the same position he was in while he was on Appa. He swallowed again, some sweat dripping down his brow. "Aang.. We shouldn't stop for long. We need to move on soon.. I'm going to teach you something... as soon as my stomach stops..."

Toph sat beside Zuko. "Ew, you're not going to puke are you?" She quickly formed him a bucket out of rock and handed it over to him. "If you are, no offense, but I'm going faaaar away. If you puke, then I'll puke. Then we'll just be taking turns puking. Ugh..." Toph then walked off, enjoying the freedom while she still could. 

Sokka pulled out his grand schedule he'd been pulling together before noticing something in the distance. "... Hawky?" But then the hawk passed them and he frowned sadly. It wasn't HIS hawk. This made him curious though. What message was the hawk carrying? It was certainly from the Firenation. It made him almost curious enough to try and knock the bird out of the sky. Almost. Aww heck. He aimed, threw, and down went the bird. He ran to discover what evil the Firenation was up to now. And possibly start preparing some lunch.

Katara streamed the water and nutrients from a few herbal plants that she knew would make the proper tea Zuko needed to get healthier. From prior experience, she made sure to add water from the waterskin that the Fire Prince gave to her. Then, with the teapot full, she made her way back to the camp. Aang was leaning over the fire that he made, and he looked up as she came, "You're going to make the tea?"

She nodded, "Yeah, it shouldn't take too long to boil. Would you mind grabbing me a cup for when it's ready?" She made a makeshift stand out of a few sturdy branches and hung the kettle above the flames. She then turned her attention to Sokka, who was coming back with a letter in his hand, "What's that?"

Sokka had let the bird go. It was still alive, just severely stunned. So it would feel better and he would leave it be. Eating a messenger hawk would be a little odd anyway. He shrugged in response to Katara and sat down by the fire, opening it up. "Well isn't this convenient. It's an encrypted message. I have no idea what it means... This will take me some time to decipher." He stared at it from that moment on.

Zuko held the bucket close to his face. Maybe if he threw up, he'd feel better. But if he threw up, he'd make them more worried. But if he threw up, he'd be able to help Aang learn some firebending today with hope. He was going to have to deal with them being concerned either way. Not that he was having much of a choice in the matter of throwing up. Any moment now he was sure he would.

"Great…Good luck with that, Sokka. Let's just hope it has some interesting information." She kept her eye on the tea, watching as a bit of steam trickled from the spout. Any minute now and it will be done. As the seconds ticked by, she did her best to avoid looking at Zuko. Instead, she drew some water from the container at her side and practiced forming it into different shapes. It started out as a small flower, but soon she shaped it into a wolf's face. She added a bit more water to it, and soon a miniature canine was staring back at her.

"That's a neat trick. Where'd you learn that?"

Katara turned to see Aang peeking over her shoulder. She gave a small shrug and smiled, "No where, just figured it out now. I'm sure you can do the same."

Zuko turned away from the group, a slave to his stomach's bidding. _Half eaten rice is the most awful feeling coming back up_, he was reminded. He was thankful to have been given a bucket to throw up in. It at least gave him a little decency. After vomiting that up he was beginning to feel a lot better. Well enough to get up and take his bucket with him, wipe his face, and discard the bucket in the woods. He walked over and sat beside Aang, a disgusted look on his face. "... I'm thirsty..."

Sokka looked over at him and then back to his encrypted message. He really wanted to solve it for himself, but although he could read it, it made no sense. He wondered if the fire prince had any trick up his sleeve, but he really wanted to solve it himself. But what if it was a dangerous message? But what if he could figure it out by himself? Oh, the choices.

Katara frowned in sympathy and looked at the teapot. It was starting to steam even more, and a gentle whistling sound came from the spout. Katara coated her hand in water and removed the pot from the stand it was hanging from. Then, holding the cup in her other hand, she poured the steaming tea into it and passed it to Zuko, "Here, I hope this helps."

Aang, who had taken control of Katara's waterwolf and began making it run around, looked up as Sokka continued to solve the message. His eyebrow lifted in a confused expression and he frowned, "Are you going to be able to figure out what it says? It might be important."

"I'm trying but I just don't get what it means." Sokka looked at it upside-down as if that would aid him. Zuko put his half finished tea and swiftly grabbed it from him, beginning to read. "What color ribbon was this tied with?" 

Sokka shrugged and then looked at the ribbon which he had carelessly discarded. "It's some ornate yellow one. With little designs on it... Wait those are.. hey, those are lotuses." Both Sokka and Zuko's eyes lit up and their mouths dropped. They fought over who would hold the scroll, but eventually came to both keep one half in their hot little hands as each looked over it again and again for more clues. They were like two peas in a pod, smushed together. It was almost as if Zuko's heart felt explanation and rejection of Katara had fixed all of their problems with each other. Toph came to sit next to them. "I wish I could help but... yeah."

Katara rolled her eyes at the two boys' antics. She refilled Zuko's tea cup, in case he wanted to use some later, and started to poke at the fire with one of the branches she used earlier. Everyone else were crowded around the scroll. Aang looked over Zuko and Sokka's shoulders, trying to see what it read. "Hey, once you guys figure out what it says, tell me. I sure as heck can't figure something like that out." Katara said before resuming her log-prodding. 

Zuko managed to pry it from Sokka's fingers and placed it over the flame. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Sokka grabbed for it but Zuko pushed him down effortlessly, being a much larger boy. "Hold on, I have an idea." And sure enough, just as his uncle's message had hidden words so did this one. "This must be a white lotus thing.." He took it away from the fire and began to read what newly appeared. "What? Did something happen?" Sokka again tried to pry it out of Zuko's hands without any luck. "What does it SAY? What does it SAY!"

The first part now made sense as compared to the rest of it. "Gather at the capital." The underneath writing had said "The Avatar and his allies will be there shortly." It was obvious this message was being used in context, and even more so, that the White Lotus Society was gathering at the capital city in the Fire Nation. The prince's eyes narrowed, wondering what they were planning to do. "The Order of the White Lotus is gathering at Capital City in the Fire Nation... And they know we're going there as well. I wonder who this was being sent to."

Aang looked over Zuko's shoulder as the characters appeared on the letter and he smiled, "Hey, at least we know we're heading in the right direction. Though how they would know we're going there and who it's for is beyond me…"

Katara listened in, looking towards the others as they discussed what the letter said, "Okay, so that will kill two birds with one stone. Now we don't have to search for them, we know where they're heading. So now we know we're not going to be on some wild goose chase."

Zuko let Sokka grab the scroll away from him and sat down next to his tea, which he proceeded to sip slowly. It was starting to help his stomach feel better than it had in the 30 or so hours. He sighed in relief and began drinking the tea a little more fervently. "I feel better. That's some good tea.."

Mai stepped out of the airship with a tired sigh. "Never have I been so glad to see a boring harbor before." Azula stepped out from behind Ty-Lee and then stepped in front of both girls with confidence. "I believe we have some time to take a small shopping break before we meet up with the Avatar and his friends. Wouldn't that be nice, Ty-Lee?"

Katara gave him a small smile, "Thanks, I learned from the last time." She closed her eyes at the memory. She had taken care of him all on her own then. Those were the times she cherished, when she had time to talk to him, to learn more about who he was, and what his past was like. And to grow closer to him…She quickly shook her head to snap out of the thought.

Ty-Lee grinned from ear to ear, "Oh, that would be very nice indeed, Azula. I would love to look around!" Her excitement was revealed plainly in the sound of her voice. 

After a few more minutes Zuko began packing the sleeping bag and taking down the tent, more color to his face. He obviously wanted to get going as he threw them on Appa. "We don't want to fall behind schedule. Let's go." Sokka ran over and hopped on Appa as well. "Good idea." He took the reigns, anxious to continue the journey. Toph sighed and also got onto Appa; her time back on the ground was too short.

Azula and company looked around the tiny harbor town. There wasn't much to see, besides some intelligently cowering individuals. The shopping district was small and not to Azula's tastes at least. Mai raised a brow and rolled her nearly closed eyes, her arms crossed. "This place is stupid."

Katara poured out the remainder of the tea and gave the pot a quick rinse with clean water before she placed it back into it's rightful place. She then watched as Aang nimbly leapt onto the bison's back before she too climbed aboard. The Waterbender sat at the rear corner of the saddle and closed her eyes as Appa took off. The gentle breeze snaked its way through her long hair, and she enjoyed the coolness of it. She relaxed slightly, she was so tense these past few days, it was nice just to sit and let her worries fade away in the back of her mind.

Ty-Lee blinked at Mai and swiftly flipped over towards a stand selling random trinkets. There was barely anything to catch her fancy. The jewelry in the Fire Nation was so much more intricate and creative. She frowned slightly and went over to Azula, "There's not much here, is there? Why are we in such a poor village?"

"This is the closest piece of land to the Firenation, and considering they're flying on a bison who needs rest, they'll certainly stop here before they set off for the capital once more." Azula smiled cunningly. "There's a famous abbey that makes some of the world's best perfume. Would you like to stop there too girls? It's only about an hour from here." Mai frowned. "Do you mean we'd have to walk?" Azula rolled her eyes. "Well we could just take the pagoda." Mai then shrugged, apparently less against it. ".. Sure I guess."

With Zuko's stomach settled, he was beginning to feel somewhat hungry. But he knew better than to give in to his stomach's desire, at least until after it felt better a while longer. He fell asleep, clinging to the wall of the saddle.

"Ahh, I see…" Ty-Lee smiled, "I would love to see that perfume. I could always use some to brighten my aura just a teensy bit more!" She looked over to where a few Fire Nation men were carrying the pangolin and she lightly leapt into it, "Let's go see the abbey!" She said with a large smile.

Katara opened her eyes for a brief moment, and saw Zuko sleeping. She gave a small smile, he looked so adorable when he slept. She then looked over to Aang, who was gazing over Appa's saddle, a pondering look upon his face. She wondered what he was thinking of. He knew how she felt about Zuko, and she knew how Aang felt about her. It was a complicated situation…One that she couldn't see any way out of. A small sigh escaped from her lips, well, she would have to see what happened. Allow events to unfold. Maybe something would work out…just maybe.

Toph crawled over to sit beside Aang and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Hey." She got herself comfortable. "Are you okay?" She spoke softly, keeping the conversation just between the two of them.

Aang looked at Toph, frowning, and then looked away once more, "I'm fine." He murmured, "It's just that, I've never seen Katara so mad like that before. It kind of reminded me of me when I would go into the Avatar State…I never realized how helpless you guys must've felt when I became that way. But that's not entirely what's bugging me. What I'm worried about is what caused her to become like that. She really does love Zuko…" His voice cut off and he gave a sigh, "I guess I still feel jealous, but it's not a feeling I want to embrace."

"Yeah that stuff's all a huge mess. I don't blame you for being jealous. It's like he has her wrapped around his finger but he just rejected her. And yet she'd still go for him in a heartbeat. And if you were in his situation you wouldn't hesitate, you'd just go for it. But you've gotta remember the politics of royalty. They stink. I don't think those two would work out in the long run, no matter how much they like each other. And it doesn't mean they won't move on, because that's not how time works. Time affects everything. So who knows what'll happen in the future." Toph stretched, sighing. After her stretch, her voice became louder so everyone could overhear her. "And hey.. We're almost done. You've got your Sifu Hotman, and you took to fire really well. You're almost done with your training in all four elements, we've got this interesting society that's going to back us up, we have a safe bet on where our friends from the invasion are... I don't get why everyone's been finding reasons to be dramatic. It's like no one knows how to relax anymore."

Sokka's ears perked and he turned around to face the group. "Yeah, Toph's right. I feel like a big jerk for causing all of those unnecessary issues.. Leave it to Toph to put everything in prospective. Heh, she grounds us. You get it? Grounds?" Sokka cracked up before allowing anyone to tell him how stupid his pun was, which made Toph smile and start chuckling. "Yeah if it weren't for me you guys would kill each other all of the time. Well, except for those times Katara actually kept us together. However few and far between they were, since I'm awesome like that." Her smirk was mischievous, as though she was just bored and seeing how Katara would react to her goading.

Katara gave Toph and irritated look, but Aang could see that she didn't take the comment to heart. She was slowly becoming her normal self again. How long was that going to last?

"Few and far between?" Katara murmured something and crossed her arms over her chest, "Hey, I've been plenty helpful. You guys were nearly hopeless cases back in the desert. You were lucky to have me there to keep the peace. Then there was the time where…" She bit her lip, trying to think of a time she kept everyone together. "Err…that one…uhh…" She was flustered, unable to think of another time. She nervously chuckled and rubbed the back of her head, "I guess you're right about that…heh heh."

"Yep, far and few between." Toph nodded exaggeratingly.

"Hey that's just the most extreme case of her keeping us together. We were literally falling apart... er, or so I was told. I can't really remember much except this big.. friendly mushroom... thing. Nevermind. Anyway, she does the laundry and sews my pants! THAT'S important. Of all the genius things I am capable of, I can't sew for my life." Sokka smiled reassuringly at Katara, not that he didn't realize Toph was being completely sarcastic.

"Katara knows how to sew..?" Zuko yawned tiredly, apparently not having been able to keep asleep through all of the talking. "My pants have this unsightly hole in them.."

Aang chuckled, "Hehe, Zuko has a hole in his pants." It was small things like this that easily amused the kid.

Katara shrugged, "It's not that big of a skill. I can sew those up if you need me to." She had blushed slightly at Zuko's comment, but the color quickly faded from her face, "And I guess other than that my healing abilities are pretty important for the group." She frowned, "But other than that I must be a pain to hang around, huh? Emotionally unstable, tempermental…Heh, I should try working on that."

"You and Prince Zuko are in the same boat there." Toph grinned and laughed at herself. "But hey, we've all got our issues."

Zuko made a face at Toph as if she could see it while taking off his boots. "Hey, I admit I'm temperamental; I don't need YOU doing it for me." He then took off his pants, exposing he had some long fancy shorts underneath. The prince handed his pants over to Katara and stuck his hand through the holy part, which was actually quite large. He hadn't been exaggerating. The hole probably needed patching, and it was right on his knee. "I just got these pants too. This is ridiculous.."

Katara had looked away for a second and when she turned her eyes back to the prince, her face turned beet red when she saw him wearing his shorts. She took his pants and quickly looked down at the satchel that had the sewing needle and thread in. "I…I'll patch them up in no time." She quickly set on to threading the needle and began sewing the hole, keeping her face turned so they wouldn't see the color slowly fading from her cheeks. 

Zuko began to fall back asleep as the group quieted down once more. It would be another eight or nine hours until they reached the abbey. He had to be better by then. He had to.

Sokka watched in boredom as the generic hills passed by. The sky was nearly cloudless, and it was still somewhat cool from the storm. They were in this area last time there was a terrible storm he realized. And this is around the area where Aang had gotten captured and Zuko saved him. _Why did he save him? Was it really for his own glory?_ The warrior accepted that without the prince, things could have been much worse for them in that case. It was funny how fate worked. He gazed up at the barely visible moon, which was always smiling down at him. Thinking no one was looking he gave Princess Yue a little wave, as he tended to do. _I miss her so much. I hope someday I can become the waves of the ocean. When I'm no longer needed here of course..._

Katara stole a glance towards Sokka, and watched as he waved towards the moon. She looked up at it, and a sad smile appeared on her face. Sokka had his share of heartbreak as well, but he took it so well…Why was she having such a hard time with it? Sighing, she looked down at her patch job. It was the best she had ever done so, satisfied, she folded the pants and placed them next to the sleeping prince. With that work done, she looked over the side of Appa's saddle, taking in the scenery from below. 

"It was so long ago, wasn't it?"

The Waterbender jumped as Aang spoke up from behind her. She gave a small nod and looked back down at the world below, "Yeah…it seems like it was only yesterday though, traveling through the Earth Kingdom, both of us set on learning Waterbending from a master." She smiled, "We were more carefree then, weren't we?"

Aang nodded, "Yeah, it looks like all the pressure of the war is bearing down on us now. We just have to do the best we can to keep it from crushing us. So far we've been pretty successful. We're still here." He leaned his back against Appa's saddle and gazed up at the passing clouds. 

"I don't remember us EVER being that carefree.." Toph interjected. "... Of course, I'm a newer edition. Who knows what you guys were like before I came around? But I also don't remember us being as down as we've been since we got our butts handed to us by the Firenation... Heh."

Sokka turned around again, his eyes a bit distant. "Yeah but next time we'll be ready for them. So everyone should cheer up already!"

Katara sighed, "Well, life wasn't a piece of cake before you came, but then we only had a few people trying to kill us. Now it seems we have the entire Fire Nation after us. Besides a few exceptions of course." She looked over at the sleeping form of Zuko. "We should be ready for them. We've been training hard, and even though it's been difficult, it really has been a growing experience for all of us." Katara looked at Aang, "I remember when you were just a goofy little Airbender, and I couldn't even make a wave back in the day. We've all come a long way."

"And I couldn't bend metal, but I still ruled Earthbending." Toph's cheesy grin was interrupted when Momo sat on her shoulder and his tail flickered against her face. "Bleah Lemur taste."

"Yeah and I used to be a really bad fighter, but now look at me. I'm good with a sword. And remember how bad a fighter Zuko used to be? Aang used to dance circles around him. Peh, that was so funny. I think that's another reason it was easier back then. Zuko stunk worse than us, but now we've got his sister after us. And she's a little scary."

Zuko's ears perked once he overheard his name. He opened his eyes and turned to glare at Sokka. "That's not true. It was constantly three against one." Sokka shook his head. "Not all of the time." Zuko glared in irritation. "Most of the time. And when it was one on one I was a much more even match." Sokka burst out laughing. "Whatever you say fireboy. Why don't you put on your pants? They're fixed."

And so the firebender examined his pants and put them back on. He pulled on each boot, looking at Aang. "I wasn't THAT bad was I?"

Aang chuckled, "Yeah, you were pretty pathetic." His tone clearly showed that he was kidding around. "But you've come quite a long way too. I could barely keep up with that one Firebending game we were playing…"

"And when you fought those pirates." Katara interrupted, "You were incredible." She smiled warmly and chuckled slightly, "Though I do remember you in the old days. I remember kicking your butt in one hit in the North Pole once we rescued Aang from you." Her chuckle grew into a hearty laugh.

Zuko pouted, also light hearted. "I was half frozen to death. If you guys hadn't found Aang and I at the North Pole I believe I would have died.. But if I weren't only half alive I believe I would have defeated you. Or at least put up more of a fight."

"Yeah you have Aang to thank for that. If it were up to us back then we would have left you for dead. But Aang wouldn't leave you like that." Sokka pondered thoughtfully, tapping his finger on his chin. "And if you had died we wouldn't have had a firebending teacher for Aang. So it all works out." 

Zuko looked over at Aang, remembering everything he used to mean to him. Remembering the anger, the guilt, and constantly playing the words in his head that the Avatar had spoken to him. _If we knew each other back then, do you think we could have been friends too?_ That affected him far more than he had let on outwardly and far more than he would have ever admitted back then. "Thanks.."

Toph listened with interest. They didn't talk too often about their experiences previous to her, and it was always a treat to listen to.

Aang smiled, "No problem, Zuko. I owed you after you saved me from Zhao. And I couldn't just leave you out there. I knew you wouldn't have lasted long in that weather…it was terrible up there." He closed his eyes and recalled the memory bit by bit, seeing it as he had before. Zuko was as determined as ever to capture him, but the Prince seemed to have fallen on worse luck than the Gaang had. But it was for the better. Look where it led them now. Now he almost mastered all four elements, and eventually he would face the Fire Lord and save the world, with all his friends at his side.

"How does anyone live there? It's so cold all of the time." Zuko lowered his brow with a pout. "I seem to manage." Sokka shrugged, turning his attention back to steering. There was a small pan of silence as Zuko watched Aang, pondering something. "Aang, I think you're ready for another lesson." Zuko didn't seem to be feeling entirely perfect, but he was doing a lot better than he had been earlier in the day.

Aang looked at Zuko, "Another lesson? Now? But you're not fully recovered, and we're in the middle of flying. Can't it wait until we reach our destination?" He was a bit nervous about facing Zuko after what occurred not too long ago. But he knew he had to train. He wasn't fully ready with Firebending, Zuko proved that in their last match. 

"We'll be fine. It's actually better that we're on Appa. I haven't mastered this move myself, but I have the motions down. I'm going to teach you how to bend lightning." Zuko watched him, waiting for him to react in some way as he always did.

Aang's eyes slowly widened in shock and he leapt into the air, throwing his fist upward, "YEEAHAHAHA! Lightning! AWESOME! Where do we start! What do I do first! Do I get to shoot it into the sky!" His mouth was moving in a blur as he continued to voice his excitement. 

Katara smiled at his energy and went to sit at the corner of Appa's saddle. This ought to be interesting.

Zuko merely smiled at Aang's excitement and quieted him with a movement of his hands. The prince rose to his feet, forcing himself to steady his balance. He got into a fighting stance. "Now, I've never actually made lightning before.. It requires inner peace and a clear mind... You see, there is energy all around us. Yin and Yang. Opposites. A few firebenders can separate these energies, creating an imbalance. As the energies come crashing back together to restore balance, you provide release.. creating lightning. The biggest trick to this is not separating the energies, but being the guide to release that energy as lightning. Take a few steps back." 

The prince guided Aang a good distance away while still granting him a good view. He took a deep breath and released, circling his arm slowly, a sparking light following behind, and then created the sparking light with his other arm. One hand followed the other as he pointed in the air, a lightning bolt shooting outward into the sky.

"..." His eyes were wide and his mouth dropped. His body had frozen as if in a state of shock. He then turned around to face Aang with a big smile on his face. "I did it? I did it! I can bend lightning! Did you see that!" Zuko's arms waved in excitement as he practically jumped for joy.

Katara watched Zuko as he went through the motions, wondering how he could teach Aang to bend lightning when he couldn't himself. But boy was she shocked when she saw the large bolt shoot forward from his fingers. Her eyes widened in amazement. She had never seen him do that before. "Wow, great job, Zuko." She said with a smile. She chuckled at his excitement. He looked so cute bouncing around like that. She had never seen him act this child-like before. It brought warmth to her heart to see him in a much better mood.

Aang was equally shocked and his mouth fell in a surprised look, "Wow, Zuko. That was amazing! I want to try it!" He closed his eyes, clearing his mind of all other thoughts that tried to come to him. He repeated the exact same motions as Zuko, lightning flashing from his tip. But as he channeled the energy through his arm, only a small bolt of lightning came out and he gave a sheepish laugh, "Heh heh, maybe I need to practice a few more times."

"That's far better than my first try. The first time I tried... and every time besides this last time it just blew up in my face... I was so sore by the end of that day." Zuko was still smiling happily as he spoke.

Sokka's mouth was gaping. "Oh great. Lightning. Just watch where you shoot that okay?"

Toph yawned. She didn't really see what all of the fuss was about.

Aang smiled, "So you think I can get it? Let me try again!" He went through the motions and separated the energies, then, as they crashed back together, he threw his fingers forward and a slightly larger lightning bolt shot out, "Hey! I'm getting the hang of this!" He shouted, pure excitement showing on his face.

Katara smiled. It was amazing how one small thing like a new ability could brighten someone up so quickly. Zuko went from being tired and sick to excited and energetic within seconds. She liked it. She caught herself staring at him once again and looked away, smiling gently.

"This turned out to be the easiest lesson. I really thought it was going to be more difficult than this." Zuko caught Katara glancing at him and smiled kindly at her. He then continued to watch over Aang's lesson. After a few more tries Zuko sat down to rest once more. He was happy, but he was dizzy so he really needed to rest a bit more.

Aang sighed and fell to his rear in tiredness. So far he procured a few good bolts, but non as impressive as the Fire Prince. As he leaned back against the wall of the saddle, he gave a satisfied sigh and looked up at the sky, "Hey Sokka, how much farther is the Abbey? I'm starting to get a bit hungry." He pat his stomach, which gave a small growl, and sighed.

Katara saw Zuko's smile from the corner of her eye and her own grew. She needed to talk to him soon. To apologize. Then maybe she could set things straight. She still felt there may be a chance. She just had to think of what that chance may be.

Zuko fell asleep for the third time that trip, this time more deeply than the other two. He was dead to the world as he snored softly

Toph concurred with Aang. "Yeah, I'm starving Sokka. When's the Abbey?"

Sokka turned to address the two. "Four more hours. Can't you hold on until then? If we stop and take another break we won't get there before the sun sets."

Katara shrugged, "I can wait. It's these two you have to worry about." She pointed to Toph and Aang and smiled, "And I'm surprised you're not complaining. Aren't you feeling the least bit hungry?"

"Yeah, Sokka. Usually you're the one complaining." Aang said with a laugh. He used his staff to pick himself up from the saddle and snapped the wings of his glider open, "I'm going to fly a bit around Appa. I can use the Airbending exercise." He held onto the crossbar and flew into the air with a blast of wind behind him. Momo lifted his head and chattered loudly before spreading his own bat-like wings to join him. Soon the two were spiraling around each other, playing a small game of Air Tag.

"It's okay. I ate a big breakfast." Sokka smiled and continued to sneak some jerky he had hidden away for himself. Suddenly Appa turned, joining in the game of air tag. This caused the sleeping Zuko to thump backwards into the saddle, but he continued to sleep on his back, one hand draped across his chest. Toph clung to the edge, afraid.

"Hey! Appa, stop that! You're going to throw us overboard!" Sokka managed to pull Appa along and make him stop playing. The bison grunted and continued along, bored. "Hey I'm bored too, but you gotta do what you gotta do am I right buddy?"

Appa groaned softly to show his discontent, but he followed Sokka's orders anyway.

Aang laughed as he poked Momo in the back and swiftly angled his glider upwards to dodge a swipe from the lemur's paws. He arched through the air and dived down, spiraling through the sky before he pulled up and made a wide backflip.

Katara clapped gently on Appa's back, laughing at Aang's youthful enthusiasm. He really didn't have much time to actually enjoy himself lately, so this was probably a nice break for him. The waterbender started to close her eyes and curled up in her corner. "Just a small nap." She murmured. Within seconds, she was fast asleep.

Toph climbed over to Sokka and clung to him as she tended to do when she was uncomfortable with her flying experience. He'd grown very accustomed to it. He wrapped an arm around her and kept an eye on her as she settled down and eventually fell asleep. The next four hours were completely uneventful. "Hey, I SEE it!" Sokka's eyes lit up as the Abbey came from the distance.

Toph groaned, not even opening her eyes. "Really? Does that mean we're FINALLY going to eat? I'm starving."

Zuko continued to snore softly, oblivious.

Katara groaned softly and slowly opened her eyelids a crack. When light struck her eyes, she lifted her head and Sokka's words registered within her mind. Aang came in for a landing after his long flight, breathing heavily as he landed on Appa's back, "Good, we're almost there." He was sprawled down on the saddle and refused to get up. 

Katara sat up and looked ahead. The Abbey was coming closer. Finally, another nice place to rest for the time being. Rest and train, that's what she wanted to do more than anything else now. But her stomach was also noticing its lack of nourishment, so she felt that she better eat as well.

Mai sighed impatiently as she watched Ty-Lee painfully choose between two almost identical perfumes. "Buy them both already. We've been here for almost two HOURS." The pagoda ride took much longer than expected because they found a cute little restaurant on the way and had filled themselves with delicious (if a little bland) Earth Nation food.

Azula didn't seem to be paying much attention. She was busy eyeing something in the far distance. "Looks like I don't have to search for you after all. Mai, Ty-Lee, let's prepare to greet the latest arrivals."

Ty-Lee frowned, "But I don't want it to be a waste…" She looked closely at one bottle and then finally decided to get both of them like Mai said, "Okay, I like these ones." She grinned and gave one of the nuns some money. The Sister took it without another word and glided into the building, casting a mistrusting glance behind her at the Fire Nation Princess.

The acrobat went to Azula's side and smirked as she watched the flying bison come slowly into view, "Ahh, they're coming right here! That's exciting! I was hoping we'd get some fun!" She cracked her fingers by folding them together and pushing her palms out. "I'm ready. What's the plan?" 

"Let's hide and wait. The nuns will give us away, but I'd like to get a quick assessment before we attack. I want to see if they're all together." She hadn't seen her elder brother since he'd drowned, and she had no idea if he actually survived or not. A small part of her hoped to see him again, but she shunned it. Mai smiled. "Finally, something to do." And so the three girls pretended to leave, instead hiding behind some perfume.


End file.
